Rajnath Singh to fly in LCA Tejas over Bengaluru | Master Stroke

 Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will fly in the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas over this tech hub on Thursday morning for a first-hand assessment of the 4th generation fighter, an official said on Wednesday.

"Singh will fly in the LCA's trainer as a familiarization sortie from the HAL airport in the city's eastern suburb on Thursday morning after a briefing by Indian Air Force (IAF) pilots," said a defence official.

Designed and developed by the city-based Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) of the state-run Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and built by the aerospace behemoth Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), the single engine, delta wing, multi-role fighter will be flown by a senior IAF pilot.

"Before taking off for a 30-minute sortie, the pilots of the 45 Squadron Flying Daggers will acquaint the Defence Minister with the air prowess of the home-grown fighter, its avionics, controls and radar in the glass cockpit and the weapons it carries for strike power," said the official.

The squadron is based at the Sulur air base near Coimbatore in southern Tamil Nadu.