Two months after the entire fleet was grounded following an accident involving one of the aircraft at a frontline airbase, the Tejas light combat jets of the Indian Air Force (IAF) are set to return to the skies.
Chairman and Managing Director of the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) D.K. Sunil said the entire fleet of 34 Tejas will fly most likely from April 8 as the glitch found on board the jet's software has been resolved.
"All the Tejas jets are set to fly again from next Wednesday," he has been quoted as saying.
The LCA Tejas fleet was grounded in early February after a Tejas jet overshot the runway at an airbase, sustaining airframe damage following a suspected brake failure. The IAF subsequently ordered a detailed inspection of all aircraft.
"The good news is that for the Tejas fleet, the LMC is done, there is a local modification committee civil action there, which looks at this, so we expect this clearance by Wednesday, the fleet will start flying," Sunil was quoted as saying.
On delays in delivery of Tejas Mk1A IAF, Sunil said HAL will be ready to deliver over 20 jets by December and that six of them could be supplied soon as the final tests of radar, avionics and missile-firing systems were currently underway.
The delivery of the jets is facing delays primarily due to GE Aerospace missing several deadlines for the supply of its F-404 aero engines to power the jets. On Thursday, media reports said GE has handed over the sixth engine to Tejas maker HAL. The company, however, said the engine is yet to reach India.
