Rajnath Singh becomes first defence minister to fly fighter jet Tejas

Rajnath Singh has become the first Defence Minister to fly indigenously-built fighter aircraft Tejas. The Defence Minister flew the combat jet form the HAL airport in Bengaluru on September 19, 2019.

The Defence Minister was accompanied by Air Vice Marshal N Tiwari, who is also the Project Director at the National Flight Test Centre, ADA (Aeronautical Development Agency) in Bengaluru. The Defence Minister flew a 30-minute sortie in the twin-seater version of Tejas. Before the sortie, the Minister was acquainted with the air prowess of the ‘Made-in-India’ combat jet, its controls, avionics and radar in the glass cockpit and its weapons. The move gives a huge boost to the officers who have been involved in the development of the “indigenously-made Tejas” and also the IAF officers who will be flying it.

Tejas: Know about India’s home-grown aircraft

Tejas combat aircraft has been designed and developed by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) of the state-run Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). It was built by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL).

Tejas is a light combat aircraft (LCA) that uses fourth-generation technology, which is primarily configured for maneuverability and agility. The aircraft is equipped with a digital fly-by-wire flight control system to ease the handling. This would help pilots to carry out other critical activities without worrying about the aircraft deviating from its flight path.

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