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India’s indigenous ‘Tejas’ Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) programme has got a major boost since the Indian Navy has committed to buying six naval variants of the LCA . The LCA programme is being coordinated by the state-owned Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA). The cost of each LCA is to the tune of$30 million and the order by the Indian Navy will provide the financial push needed in the LCA programme.
According to sources, the naval variant of the LCA will be developed at a shore-based carrier operation training facility currently being developed at INS Hansa in Goa with the assistance of Russia, and it will consist of ski jump take off and arrestor cables. This facility, which is expected to be operational by October 2011 and will be used for certifying the Naval LCA before actually flying off an aircraft carrier.
The Indian Navy intends to operate light and medium fighters off its aircraft carriers and is also planning to supplement the MiG-29K which will be acquired from Russia soon. The Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC), being built at Cochin Shipyard, Kochi, has also been designed with a separate aircraft lift and maintenance facilities for the LCA, in addition to facilities for the MiG-29K.
The current dilemma being faced by the ADA is that of the engine. The naval LCA requires a powerful engine in order to take-off and land on an aircraft carrier. Currently, the General Electric GE-414 and the Eurojet EJ-200 engines are being evaluated but they will only be delivered by 2013. As of now, ADA plans to fly the Naval LCA with the current GE-404 engine to test its flight characteristics and whether its structural strength is sufficient for aircraft carrier operations. After the LCA is fitted with a more powerful engine, only then will the LCA be operated from an aircraft carrier.
The naval version of the LCA will be a huge challenge since the aircraft will have to be highly specialized and engineered to sustain the “controlled crashes”. Since landing the aircraft on an aircraft carrier involves steep landing and thumping on the decks twice as hard as land-based fighters in the Air Force, the term “controlled crashes” is used to signify a fighter aircraft landing on an aircraft carrier.
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