First flight of India's Indigenous Fighter, Tejus in IAF Operational Configuration

Tejas, India’s Light Combat Aircraft, achieved an important milestone today when the fifth Limited Series Production (LSP-5) aircraft made its first flight. LSP5 aircraft is the first LCA in the Operational Configuration of the Indian Air Force. The LSP-5 was piloted by test pilot Lt Cdr Ankur Jain, from the Indian Navy. The aircraft took off at 1054 hours and achieved a max speed of 0.8 mach, 4G turns, and an altitude of 11 km during the 40 min flight. The flight was uneventful and all systems functioned normally, clearing all the test points. This is the culmination of the efforts of all the stakeholders viz., HAL, IAF, DRDO Labs, Defence PSUs, CEMILAC, DGAQA and Aeronautical Development Agency. This has been a great team effort to get the final standard aircraft in the flight line. The LSP-5 first flight was directed by Wg Cdr Sreedharan Toffeen, Test Director. Gp Capt G Thomas, Chief Test Pilot of the National Flight Test Centre (NFTC) piloted the chase aircraft.