Pardon to be sceptical, but honestly, how realistically is this?
Name any international Air Force that introduces a new type in very limited numbers - and we have to remember so far not much more than a dozen Tejas are delivered - and call them to have reached not only IOC but also FOC?
I know, much has been written, the Tejas might have reached IOC even before reaching frontline squadron service, but hey ... usually a new type is delivered to a dedicated OCU to train pilots and ground grew, to perfect manuals and flight procedures and for that you need a certain number of flying planes and flight numbers, lots of flight numbers. Only then you reach IOC and later FOC after even more years of operational training, exercises and hours of hours.
Just look at the Rafale, the €-Fighter, the F-22 and F-35, all had a long and sometimes arduous operational conversion period until they were then delivered AFTER THAT to a first front line unit.
I remember the jokes some made, when the PLAAF gained the first J-20s in late 2016 introduced in a dedicated training unit (176th Brigade at Dingxin) and even after the second unit at Cangzhou (172nd Brigade) was formed in 2017 most external observers were sceptical or even joking, how on earth the PLAAF could call them "operational".
Even now with the first true front line unit established and surely several more J-20s delivered than Tejas flying, some still remain reluctant to call the J-20 as FOC but India magically managed to directly deliver just a few birds directly to a frontline unit and whoops, they have reached FOC.
Come on ... given the otherwise not that "astonishing" track record of the Indian Aerospace Industry I really have my doubts, regardless what is written and to admit, not a single of these arguments mentioned in several forums convinced me why the IAF managed in less time something no other Air Force achieved with a comparable type.
Best,
Deino
