The challenges of inducting Tejas in IAF
Tejas - "Radiance" - entered service with the Indian Air Force when the first two light combat aircraft donned the crest of Number 45 Squadron, "The Flying Daggers".
The aircraft has been a long time coming - and truth be told that there is a still some distance to go before the Tejas dons the mantle of a full-fledged combat worthy fighter aircraft.
Tejas has had a chequered history since 1983 when the project was first sanctioned to design and build a technology demonstrator, and a sum of Rs 560 odd crores was earmarked.
After a particularly long design phase, money was sanctioned for the commencement of work on a full scale engineering demonstrator in 1993, and thereafter, the monetary sanctions kept coming as the first technology demonstrator flew on January 4, 2001.
From that day, it took 12 years for the initial operational clearance to be granted in December 2013. The final operational clearance, which was scheduled for 2014, is yet to be obtained and would hopefully come about before the Tejas Mk1A is inducted in to the IAF.
But first, let's look at the positives.
The biggest being that it is a genuinely India-designed and developed fighter; it has been almost five decades since HF-24 Marut, the last such aircraft, entered IAF service.
The aerodynamicists and scientists of the Aeronautics Development Agency (ADA) can legitimately take credit for the compound delta design and the control laws of the fly-by-wire Tejas that makes the aircraft extremely agile and its handling, a pilot’s delight.
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| HF-24 Marut. |
The open architecture computer is also from ADA and combines the functions of the erstwhile mission computer and other related peripherals.
World over, the initial aircraft models are generally frugal with respect to cueing and firing of weapons, and improvements are made gradually while in service; in case of the Tejas, from the first aircraft, all weapons, including air-to-air missiles and precision-guided weapons have come integrated with the pilot’s Helmet Mounted Sight and Display (HMSD) system.
The HMSD permits the pilot to keep his "eyes out" of the cockpit since all vital flight and weapon cueing and firing parameters are projected on the helmet’s visor. The potent Litening surveillance and targeting pod is already integrated on the Tejas; one would recollect the video images of targeting of Tiger Hill in the Kargil conflict which was done using the Litening pod.
Down the years, the experience of integration of Tejas' development would stand ADA and HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited) in good stead as they, hopefully, move towards further R&D for future aircraft projects, starting with Tejas Mk1A, its Mk2 variant for the Navy and the fifth generation Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA); the Tejas Mk2 variant, incidentally, would be an aircraft vastly different from the Mk1A due a substantially redesigned fuselage to accommodate the higher power F‑414 engine, and the associated major changes that would arise.
Now, the challenges.
The first is to ramp up the production at HAL so that the apology of having a squadron with two aircraft is done away with quickly.
While the two inducted machines can be used to work up procedures and SOPs as well as train more pilots, the fact is that squadron spirit builds up with flying and more flying, armament range work and participating in exercises – one can hardly do that with two aircraft.
The production capability of HAL is quoted to be eight aircraft per year - hopefully it is so, and one is cynical due its demonstrated track record, which HAL must buck; sixteen aircraft per year is the norm worldwide, and HAL must be held to its statement of attempting that.
Even as production is ramped-up, the development of Tejas Mk1A must proceed in parallel, as it is this version that the IAF desires – 100 aircraft in number.
The four mandatory requirements of incorporating a beyond-visual-range missile, air-to-air refueling capability, a modern electronic warfare suite, and above all, an Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar are tasks that require focused R&D, testing and production.
A squadron’s combat capability can only be as good as the number of machines available on the flight line. It is here that HAL has to really turn a new leaf as adequate and timely product support has not been its forte, especially for newly inducted systems.
It is no secret that the availability of the Dhruv fleet (advanced light helicopter) in the services was poor due to logistics not being in place. The repair and overhaul facilities were inadequate and helicopters sent to HAL for servicing remained unavailable for periods extending up to seven to eight months as a routine. The Tejas must not go through the same treatment.
And finally, the bickering about variations in IAF’s requirements must stop. The air staff requirements have generally remained unchanged, in fact scores of deletions and concessions have been accorded.
The armament requirement would certainly undergo a modification, as a warfighter in the 2020s cannot be expected to fight with equipment desired in the 1980s, when the requirements were first drawn up.
The fast-changing world of warfare demands dexterity from our R&D and manufacturing establishment. It is a challenge that our scientists have to accept – the Indian warfighter looks up to them to stay potent.