To prove my point further on AOA of Tejas here is a article which was published on Deccan Chronicle, 29 May 2008 which clearly states that 20 AOA was achieved has early has May 2008 and now we are in End of Feb 2009, and i take word of Mr Kanchan Biswas Associate Director, CEMILAC who has confirmed 22 AOA has been reached while it is Dr Subramahyam from drdo who claimed 20 AOA in the Article dated May 2008. i will take the word of Dr Subramahyam and Kanchan Biswas over some article which has a unnamed source from MOD, i clearly state that Targeted AOA of Tejas is 25 AOA is yet to be achieved while 20/22 AOA has been achieved ,i rest my case here
India has never failed
Bangalore, May 28: The Light Combat Aircraft Tejas is set to undergo hot weather trials in Nagpur. This is a significant step for those involved with the project, which has to obtain Initial Operational Clearance in mid-2010. Speaking to this correspondent, Dr. P.S. Subramanyam, the LCA project director, explained the importance of the projects and the difficulties it faced.
Now, with the finish line in sight, Dr Subramanyam exulted: "This country has never failed in anything, be it nuclear weapons, missiles, supercomputers." Speaking about the hot weather trials which are expected to be held before the month-end or early June, Dr Subramanyam said, "The Nagpur trials are to see how the aircraft and its subsystems work in hot weather conditions. We expect to experience an ambient temperature of 45º Centigrade and characterise the aircraft."
In August-September, the aircraft will be taken to Jaisalmer for weapon trials. The cold weather trials will be done next year. Answering questions about delays and cost overruns, Dr Subramanyam charted the course of the project. "It was first proposed in 1983, but the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) itself came into existence only in 1985. And, we had three people then. Initial activity started in 1986 when ADA was given a small corner in the National Aeronautical Laboratory," he said.
In 1987-88, Dassault of France was commissioned to do preliminary feasibility studies. "It was only in 1989 that we came to understand what the project entailed." "We gave our report to the government, and said we would need to produce seven aircraft to complete the programme. The government said just build two technology demonstrators," he said. "It was then considered nothing more than an engineering project. Even money for phase one of the full-scale engineering project was given in 1993."
The technology development included development of a fly-by-wire system, real-time embedded controllers and other sub-systems. "We completed that programme in 2004. The real kick-off for operational fighter aircraft was given only in 2001, after the first flight test that year." "If you consider this timeline, the progress of the LCA project is comparable to any other fighter jet project around the world," Dr Subramahyam said.
When the project started, "our technology was stencil drawings, while other countries had advanced technology. We did not even have computers to work on, let alone CAD/CAM software," he said. "We did not have the human resources, we did not have the design tools, and we did not have the test facilities. All of them had to be evolved." Today, six aircraft have done 870 flights. There is still painstaking work to be done on the ‘angle of attack’. The LCA has reached 20 degrees against 22 degrees required for highest performance.
"The flying machine is ready. We are building the fighting machine," Dr Subramahyam said. "We are doing the sensor-weapon integration, and we are 80 per cent through.
