The indigenously-manufactured Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas has performed well while it was put to trial by the Indian Air Force (IAF) in war-like operational conditions during Gagan Shakti, its biggest ever 14-day war exercise.
"We did trials and validation of operational efficiency of LCA Tejas. We were able to generate six sorties per platform per day. In this exercise, we had deployed eight platforms," said an IAF official who was associated with this exercise.
The exercise started on April 8 and concluded on April 21. On the first day, six of Tejas jets reported "snag". "But we were able to get those rectified soon," said the official.
"We are happy with the Tejas. We are looking for fast production and also induction into the force," they said.
The ninth IAF Tejas LCA completed its maiden flight in March. On July 1, 2016, the LCA Tejas was inducted into the 'Flying Daggers' 45 Squadron of the IAF and has been placed to replace the MiG-21 aircraft.
In this exercise, the Air Force validated its 'Swing Capability' where the IAF can get ready and reach from Western to Northern sector within 48 hours.
In this exercise, 1,400 officers and 14,000 men participated. There were a total of 11,000 sorties conducted within days, which otherwise are done in a month's time. 9,000 sorties done by the fighter aircraft alone were conducted in the pan-India peacetime air operations.
As part of the massive drill, the IAF deployed its entire assets for the pan-India exercise with fighter jets, equipped with strategic weapons like Brahmos and Harpoon anti-ship missiles, carrying out deep penetration strikes to revalidate its strategic reach.
The combat drill was carried out at a time when China was increasing its assertiveness along the borders with India and while Pakistan has been continuing its skirmishes along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir.
During combat drills near Sino-India border, the IAF significantly focused on inter valley transfer of troops considering various possible situations of conflict and taking a lesson from the Doklam standoff.
The serviceability of surface-to-air missiles were around 97 per cent while serviceability of fighter jets were close to 80 per cent, they said.fit crew up to 48 years of age were employed during the exercise.
(With Inputs From ANI and PTI)
Exclusive: 1st Videos Of IAF Night-Time Laser-Guided Bomb Attacks On Tiger Hill During Kargil War "I Locked Onto A Pakistani F-16 For 30 Seconds": Kargil Hero's Account IAF Agniveervayu Recruitment 2024: Registration Begins, Check Eligibility, Paper Pattern Why BJP Lost Lok Sabha Polls In Uttar Pradesh - 6 Reasons In Party Report Travel Influencer Aanvi Kamdar Dies After Falling Off A Waterfall Near Mumbai Amid Huge Row, Karnataka Pauses Bill For Reservation In Private Sector Firms Meta Decides To Suspend Its Generative AI Tools in Brazil QS Rankings 2024: World's Top Universities For Executive MBA Program What Donald Trump's 17-Year-Old Granddaughter Said About Him Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.