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In a significant development for the indigenous fighter aircraft programme, the 4.5 generation plus LCA Mark 2 fighter jets will start flying by March 2026 and its mass production will begin by 2029.
In addition, the mass production of the Indian fifth-generation fighter Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft is expected to begin by the year 2035, defence officials told ANI.
The timelines for the indigenous fighter aircraft programmes were taken up for discussion during a high-level meeting headed by DRDO chairman Dr Samir V Kamat and Indian Air Force Deputy Chief Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit a few days ago.
Dr Kamat and Air Marshal Dixit took the high-level review meeting of the LCA MK-II Development programme by the Aeronautical Development Agency at DRDO Bhawan. All the DRDO Labs and Director Generals of Clusters involved in the development of systems and sub-systems, along with the Flight Testing of the prototype, participated in and presented the development status, risk and mitigation plan towards the realisation of first-fly-worthy prototype, DRDO officials said.
During the meeting, the LCA Mark 2 programme was discussed.
Even though the programme would now be delayed by around a year, it was earlier supposed to have the prototype ready by early 2025.
The timeline slippage has happened due to the delay in the release of the approved funds, as it was tied to the signing of the deal for engines for the next indigenous fighter.
All the LCA aircraft are going to be powered by American GE engines. While the LCA Mark 1 and Mark 1A are going to be powered by the GE-404, the LCA Mark 2 will be powered by the GE-414, which will be manufactured in India by the American firm with indigenous content.
The government has plans to replace all the mainstay fleets of the force, including the Mirage 2000, Jaguar and MiG-29s, with the LCA Mark 2 and over 250 of these planes will be inducted in service over the next 10-15 years.
The Indian Air Force in the meantime has ordered 180 of the LCA Mark 1A planes.
The production of the LCA Mark-1A is likely to be completed by 2032, officials said.
The Tejas Mark 2 would have a significantly increase amount of indigenisation, with the Uttam radar being its main sensor. The indigenous AESA radar is also being developed for the Russian-origin Su-30 MKI fighters also under the upgrade programme.
The design and development of the AMCA plane were cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Security recently.
The Mark-2 will also be equipped with indigenous weapons like the Astra air-to-air missile and Smart Anti-Airfield Weapons.
The DRDO and the IAF would also be looking for export orders for the Mark-2, which is being equipped with advanced capabilities at a reasonable price.
