EXERCISE DESERT FLAG VIII

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Context:  An Indian Air Force contingent comprising of 110 Air Warriors reached at Al Dahfra airbase of United Arab Emirates for participating in Exercise Desert Flag VIII.

Details:

• This is the first occasion when the LCA Tejas will participate in an international flying exercise outside India.

About:

• Exercise Desert Flag is a multilateral air exercise in which Air Forces from UAE, France, Kuwait, Australia, UK, Bahrain, Morocco, Spain, Republic of Korea and USA would also be participating.
• The aim of the exercise is to participate in diverse fighter engagements and learn from the best practices of various Air Forces.

About Tejas:

LCA Programme: Background

• In 1983, the Government of India established the LCA project with the initial goal to develop a new light combat aircraft to replace the ageing IAF fighters,especially the MiG-21 variants.
• In 1984, the Government of India established Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) under the aegis of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to manage the LCA programme.

Tejas under LCA Programme

• The HAL Tejas is an Indian, single engine, delta wing, light multirole fighter.
• In 2003, the LCA was officially named "Tejas". It is the smallest and lightest in its class of contemporary supersonic combat aircraft.
• The Tejas is the second supersonic fighter developed by HAL after the HAL HF-24 Marut.
• The Tejas currently has three production models – Tejas Mark 1, Mark 1A and trainer variant.

LCA Mk II

• The LCA-Mk2 will be a heavier and much more capable aircraft than the current LCA variants.
• The Mk2 is 1,350 mm longer featuring canards and can carry a payload of 6,500 kg compared to 3,500 kg the LCA can carry.
• Stealth aircraft: It would be a twin engine stealth aircraft with an internal weapons bay and a diverter less supersonic intake, which has been developed for the first time for which the design is complete.
• It will be a 25-tonne aircraft with internal carriage of 1,500 kg of payload and 5,500-kg external payload with 6,500 kg of internal fuel.
• The AMCA will have stealth and non-stealth configuration.

 

PRACTICE QUESTION Q) Which of the following statements are correct with reference to HAL Tejas? a. It is an Indian, single-engine, delta wing, light multirole fighter. b. It is the first supersonic fighter developed by HAL.          I.   Only a         II.   Only b        III.   Both a and b         IV.   Neither a not b Answer: Option I

 

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