Hi guys ,
We knew that LCA tejas Mk1+ will have AESA , EW etc when discussion used to happen about Tejas Mk1A. However a detailed design of tejas is out now. Tejas has became even better with new design improvements now. Here are the lists of Improvements.
Design Change:
Structural changes.
1) Nose cone is sharpen for better aerodynamic performance.
2) Wing blending improved with fuselage for better lift and reduction in RCS.
3) Canopy elevated to improve Aerodynamic performance and improve acceleration.
4) More composites shall go in outer surface to make plane lighter in weight and reduce RCS.
5) Duel missile racks to carry More missiles.
This will result in:
1) Improvement in MTOW by 300 kg due to lift coefficient which is an excellent outcome.
2) Radar cross section shall decrease further because of more composites and design tweaks.
3) Transonic acceleration and highest speed shall improve a lot.
4) Farry range is improved because of aerodynamic changes and ability to carry more fuel.
5) STR shall be improved to 18* .
6) AOA shall be improved by few degrees because of tweaking of wings.
7) Weight carrying will increased by 500 kg.
8) It shall be much more maintenance friendly aircraft with easy accessibility to many LRUS and low maintenance.
8) It will have hot air refueling and OBOG as well.
Electronics , Weapons and communication and net centric warfare capability.
1) UTTAM is planned now planned in MK1 instead of ELTA 2052. This will open the way for integration of METEOR. AMRAM is planned as the short range missile. ASTRA shall be incorporated with MK1 till ASTRA MK2 and SFDR missile arrives. It will carry 2 missiles in missile rack on each hand point.
2) It will have net centric warfare capability by which Tejas shall be connected with 40 other planes with Net centric integration and shall be able to communicate with other planes in a secured DATA link.
3) It will have a state of art EW mounted outside the planes. Gun position is also changed slightly for better arrangement of external payload.
So new Tejas will be more faster, more maneuverable and will carry higher payload. I It will have top class AESA and world's best WVR and BVR missiles with very low RCS and very good EW and ultra long range AAM. Tejas mk1A is a very good plane getting even better and shall be more than a match with India's enemies can come up within coming decade.