Tejas LSP-3 flies with new 'Cobham Quartz Radome'
Friday, February 26, 2016
By: Matrubhumi
Bengaluru: India's Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas achieved yet another milestone ahead of the Final Operational Clearance (FOC) on Wednesday.
Sources confirmed to Mathrubhumi on Thursday that the Limited Series Production (LSP-3) variant of Tejas had its first flight fitted with the new quartz radome from Cobham.
The flight was piloted by Group Capt Rangachari, a Test Pilot with National Flight Test Centre, Bengaluru. During a recent visit to the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) Tejas Division in Bengaluru, Mathrubhumi had witnessed the last-minute preparations being undertaken on the LSP-3 fitted with the new radome.
The young team of engineers and technicians from the Tejas Division were seen working on the aircraft for its significant mission.
As reported in these columns earlier, the Cobham radome was delivered to HAL-ADA team in August 2015. The project had delayed owing to the delay in receiving the radome along with some of the other systems.
Sources say that the initial couple of flights of LSP-3 might not test the full range of the radome. LSP-3 has been flying as part of the Tejas flightline for the last six years. It had its first flight on April 30, 2010, piloted by Wg Cdr G Thomas of NFTC.
"The test points and other parameters of the radome will be tested in future flights. When any new equipment is fitted to a fighter platform after a long AOG (Aircraft on Ground) status, first priority is always given to check the general behaviour of the aircraft" says an official.
Dr K Tamil Mani, Director-General (Aeronautical Systems), Defence Research and Development Organisation had told this correspondent in an earlier interview last year that the quartz radome would increase the radar range from the current 45-50 km to 80 km and above.
Post Bahrain air show, Team Tejas at HAL has been on their toes ensuring the aircraft variants are made available for various missions.
