Five Indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas along with two C-17 transport aircraft from Indian Air Force will take part in Exercise Desert Flag which is scheduled to be held in UAE this year, according to the IAF officials, news agency ANI report.
The IAF contingent has arrived in UAE to participate in the multilateral exercise Desert Flag.
The excercise will be held from February 27 to March 17, 2023. During a drill outside of India, the Indian Air Force is using the LCA Tejas fighter aircraft for the first time ever, as per the IAF official.
Speaking about the exercise, the IAF official stated: "Exercise Desert Flag is a multilateral air exercise in which Air Forces from UAE, France, Kuwait, Australia, the UK, Bahrain, Morocco, Spain, Korea, and the USA would also be participating. The exercise is scheduled to start from Monday, February 27th."
"The aim of the exercise is to participate in diverse fighter engagements and learn from the best practices of various Air Forces," IAF Official further stated.
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According to a senior official from the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), which is part of the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO), the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas Mk2 is not only able to carry eight Beyond-Visual-Range (BVR) missiles at once but can also integrate all indigenous weapons as well as a number of advanced weapons from other nations.
For waging a war, the LCA Tejas Mk1 has a mission endurance of 57 minutes, whereas the LCA Tejas Mk2 had a mission endurance of 120 minutes. There will be 11 hardpoints on the Mk2 [an airframe weapon station intended to hold external weight]. The LCA Mk2 will be able to carry 6.5 tonnes of weapons.
(With Inputs From ANI)