MirageBlue
FULL MEMBER
- Joined
- Mar 24, 2020
- Messages
- 1,118
- Reaction score
- 3
- Country
- Location
this clearly means..IAF was wrong in doing delaying tactics in its induction..by now by any standards Tejas is at least 10-15 years behind schedule..(first flight 2001, 20 years ago)
Yes, to a great degree they were not keen on inducting the Tejas at IOC level. And HAL is also responsible in the slow buildup to the production numbers that were required, especially for the IOC fighters.
It is not 10 years behind schedule. I would estimate it at being ~3-5 years behind schedule. Tejas LCA first flew on January 4, 2001 and entered service on July 1, 2016, that is 15 years from first flight. But it had reached IOC-1 in 2013 itself. I really wish that the IAF has pushed for earlier service entry with IOC-1 level fighters. The software updates could have been made as more testing and certification was done. But the IAF was extremely cautious and refused to take the IOC-1 level Tejas fighters into service.
Check Gripen A, Eurofighter and Rafale first flight and service entry dates.
I won't even go into how many prototypes crashed for the Gripen and Eurofighter during testing, before they entered service.
Gripen A prototype- First flight , Dec9, 1988
Gripen A- Entry into service , 1997
9 years from first flight of prototype to entry into service
Eurofighter - First flight, March 27, 1994
Eurofighter Tranche 1 - Entry into service, 4 August, 2003
9 years from first flight to entry into service in the form of Tranche 1 Eurofighters which were very limited in capability
Rafale A- First flight, July 4, 1986
Rafale M- Entry into service, 2004
Rafale A- Entry into service, 2006
18 years after first flight, Rafale M entered service. Rafale A entered service 20 years from first flight into the French Air Force.
If one does a little bit of research, a lot of false information can be easily disproved.
A great picture for Tejas and IAF fans.
No.45 Squadron Tejas Mk1 fighters at Sulur AFS, during the ceremony for No.18 Squadron's resurrection.
Image credit- Vayu Aerospace Review on Twitter.
To those people that talk about the Tejas wing, here is an image that shows it's shape.
It's called a COMPOUND delta, not just a delta wing. Now go do some research as to what a compound delta wing does and what advantages it may offer.
See the huge wing surface area? It means the Tejas has the LOWEST WING LOADING of any fighter jet, apart from the Typhoon.
Low Wing Loading contributes DIRECTLY to a very agile fighter due to the amount of lift it generates. The higher the wing loading, the more the fighter is actually like a bomb truck.
Lower wing loading means lower stall speed, tighter turns, low take off roll distances and much lower landing speeds. Add to that an excellent Fly By Wire FCS that never allows the pilot to exceed any limits and automatically takes over control if the pilot goes near to or below the stall speed and you have a top notch pilot friendly fighter.
Another image of Tejas Mk1 FOC (SP-17) with Tejas Division General Manager Yogindra. He has had a very big hand to play in the setting up of the assembly line for the Tejas. Came from a very poor family, with 5 other siblings and his father being a cook selling snacks on the roadside. Studied hard, went on to do his Mechanical Engg. from NIE and M.Tech from IIT Kanpur and then joined HAL in 1985. It's amazing how far he has come from his very humble beginnings.
article link