'Smooth & Comfortable', Says Rajnath Singh After Flying In Indigenous LCA Tejas

A Defence Ministry official on Wednesday said the minister is "taking a sortie" in order to boost the morale of officers who have been involved in the development of "indigenously-made Tejas".

Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Air Vice Marshal N Tiwari. (PTI Photo)

New Delhi: Union Minister Rajnath Singh today became the first ever Defence Minister to fly in indigenous light combat aircraft as he went for a familiarisation sortie in LCA Tejas from the HAL airport in Bengaluru. He was accompanied by Air Vice Marshal N Tiwari. The 68-year-old defence minister was briefed about the ‘dos & donts’ while flying in rear of the cockpit before flight resumed and how to communicate with main pilot in case of medical/health hazards while in air. After a 30-minute sortie in Tejas, Rajnath Singh said: "It was very smooth and comfortable. I was enjoying. I want to congratulate HAL, DRDO and several concerned agencies." "We have reached a level where we can export fighter planes across the world," Singh said. Air Vice Marshal N Tiwari, Project Director, National Flight Test Centre, Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), said: "Defence Minister Rajnath Singh was very happy with flying quality of the aircraft (LCA Tejas). We went close to Mach* 1, the speed of sound." News agency ANI shared footage of Singh's take-off. Watch here:

#WATCH Defence Minister Rajnath Singh flies in Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas, in Bengaluru. #Karnataka pic.twitter.com/LTyJvP61bH

— ANI (@ANI) September 19, 2019

A Defence Ministry official on Wednesday said the minister is "taking a sortie" in order to boost the morale of officers who have been involved in the development of "indigenously-made Tejas". "It will also boost the morale of IAF pilots who are flying these aircraft. The minister will be briefed by IAF officers before taking a sortie on Thursday," he added. The IAF has already inducted a batch of Tejas aircraft. The naval version of the LCA is in development stage. Last Friday in Goa, Tejas had successfully carried out an "arrested landing", a key performance demonstrating its ability to land on board an aircraft carrier, making it a major milestone in development of the naval variant of the fighter jet. "The minister will fly a sortie in the twin-seater version of Tejas on Thursday. He will be flying from HAL airport in Bengaluru," another official from the Defence Ministry said on Tuesday. Singh would also be attending an exhibition of products of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in Bengaluru on Thursday, he had said. Initially, the IAF had placed an order with the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for 40 Tejas aircraft. Last year, the IAF issued the request for proposal (RFP) to HAL for the procurement of another batch of 83 Tejas at a cost of over Rs 50,000 crore.