Light Combat Aircraft (LCA)

The Airframe

Tejas being a Delta Wing fighter is constructed of aluminium-lithium alloys, carbon-fibre composites, and titanium alloys. Composite materials make up 45% of the airframe by weight and 95% by surface area. Upper and lower wing skins are manufactured from a single piece of carbon-fibre reinforced polymer. Wing spars and ribs are also made out of carbon composites. The percentage of carbon composites in the airframe by weight rose from 30% in the technology demonstrators to 42% in the prototype vehicles. The construction of elevons, tailfin, rudder, air brakes and landing gear doors use co-cured and co-bonded manufacturing techniques.

Avionics

The Tejas has a night vision goggles (NVG)-compatible "glass cockpit", domestically-developed head-up display (HUD) by Central Scientific Instruments Organization (CSIO), three 5 in x 5 in multi-function displays, two Smart Standby Display Units (SSDU), and a "get-you-home" panel with fail-operational/fail-safe air data computer (ADC) manufactured by Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) that uses computational intelligence based autoland system to provide the pilot with essential flight information in case of an emergency and is connected with IAF ground station network to take over emergency controls of the unstable aircraft. The displays provide information on key flight systems and controls on a need-to-know basis, along with basic flight and tactical data.

Flight control system

Propulsion

Early on, it was decided to equip prototype aircraft with the General Electric F404-GE-F2J3 afterburning turbofan engine while a program to develop a domestic powerplant led by the Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE) was launched. In 1998, after Indian nuclear tests, US sanctions blocked sales of the F404, leading to a greater emphasis on the domestic Kaveri. In 2004, General Electric was awarded a US$105 million contract for 17 uprated F404-GE-IN20 engines to power the eight pre-production LSP aircraft and two naval prototypes;deliveries began in 2006.[189] In 2007, a follow-on order for 24 F404-IN20 engines to power the first operational Tejas squadron was issued. After evaluation and acceptance of technical offers for both the Eurojet EJ200 and the General Electric F414, the commercial quotes were compared in detail and GE's F414 was declared as the lowest bidder.

On The Web

The CAS Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria flew the #LCA Tejas fighter this morning with 45 Squadron at Air Force Station Sulur. He is on a visit to the Station for operationalisation of 18 Squadron.#LCATejas #IndianAirForce pic.twitter.com/v5Bfv8EJK5
— Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) May 27, 2020

#FridayFlying

Look at the world from a different angle, change the perspective.
Tejas Is Smart.
Be Like Tejas.#IndianAirForce pic.twitter.com/PiBeQppVDw
— Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) February 12, 2021

Winged Men
🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/bBbtlrkPdS
— Harsh Vardhan Thakur (@hvtiaf) February 23, 2021

Perfect alignment 🔺❕🔺
Atmanirbhar Bharat@AeroIndiashow '21 pic.twitter.com/ZDoX6JeBPi
— Harsh Vardhan Thakur (@hvtiaf) February 21, 2021

Navy Ready

On December 2014, the LCA Navy successfully conducted ski-jump trials at SBTF, INS Hansa. The navy variant has a special flight control law mode. It controls a hands-free take-off, which reduces the pilot workload, as the ramp launches the aircraft on an upward flight path. A two-seater naval variant of Tejas successfully completed its first arrested landing on 13 September 2019 at the Shore Based Test Facility (SBTF) in Goa. Once the aircraft completes several successful trials on the SBTF, it would demonstrate a landing on the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya. On 11 January 2020, the Naval LCA Tejas successfully carried out its first arrested landing on the aircraft-carrier INS Vikramaditya. On 12 January 2020, the Tejas performed its first ski-jump assisted take-off from the aircraft-carrier. Technology for hands free automatic take-off and landing system had already been proven on Naval Tejas prototypes and will be carried over for further development on TEDBF and AMCA.