Sunday, June 16, 2013

Superb Video Footage Of The LCA Tejas Flying During 'Iron Fist 2013'

Indian Air Force's [IAF] recently concluded Exercise 'Iron Fist 2013' saw the participation of this indigenously developed aircraft for the very first time.

Its participation in the exercise was a major milestone in the development of the Tejas. The LCA, which until then had primarily been flying within controlled test conditions of its flight-test regime, was seen in action, for the first time, in simulated real-life scenarios, in what has been termed as a massive aerial day-night exercise, involving multiple aircraft/helicopter types, flying out of 3 IAF airbases. Indicates a level of confidence in its developers about the aircraft's ability & safety/reliability to hold up against the other tried & tested platforms.

ADA seems to have taken fancy to footage shot from camera mounted externally on the aircraft fuselage, while in flight. It released a similar video of the Tejas performing at the Aero India 2013 airshow - produces some great visuals. This video, shot during one of its sorties, shows the aircraft releasing a GBU-16 Paveway II Laser-guided bomb, firing a R-73 air-to-air missile & deploying its countermeasure flare dispenser. The pilot appears to be wearing a DASH-3 helmet, with its integrated display, made by Israel's Elbit Systems. The aircraft on its wing, another LCA, performs what could be described as a single barrel roll, lost a bit too much altitude in the process, perhaps. Or it could just be the position of the camera.

via TheTejasLCA

Godspeed

Related: Kaveri Engine And The LCA Tejas Programmes - PUNK'D By The Indian Media