Tejas undergoes hot weather trials in Nagpur
Posted On: 10-Jun-2010 19:38:44
Nagpur: The indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), Tejas, underwent hot weather trials in the skies of Nagpur, the second such trial here, official sources said today.
Two prototypes underwent what was the second phase of the hot weather trials, flying from the Indian Air Force (IAF) station in Nagpur, for over a week, according to a spokesman of the Defence Ministry.
The two aircraft took trial sorties to check out on board systems like the digital flight control computer, avionics systems, multi mode radar, radar warning receiver and the electrical and environment control systems under extremely high temperatures of up to 45 degrees Celsius, he said.
The trials were conducted to test the aircraft in the Initial Operation Clearance (IOC) configuration with the weapon system and sensors integrated, the spokesman said. The trial team included an IAF flight test crew from the National Flight Test Centre (NFTC), besides scientists and engineers from Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Bangalore, he said.
During the test flights, data, video and audio from the test aircraft were transmitted in real time through fibre optic connectivity to NFTC, Bangalore, for closer monitoring and detailed analysis, which helped optimise overall flight test effort and enhance flight test safety, the spokesman said, adding the trial team was able to achieve all the objectives during the week-long trials.
The first phases of hot weather trials were conducted in Nagpur in May and June, 2008, spokesman said.
Tejas is scheduled to attain IOC by December 2010, the spokesman added.