It is a proud moment that India has come to this status where a made in India fighter aircraft has successfully landed on the deck of an aircraft carrier for the first time. Indian Navy is quite strong enough to look after maritime interests and is expected to have another aircraft carrier by the end of this year.
Being the fourth most powerful navy in the world, the Indian navy has created history with successfully landing and taking-off from INS Vikramaditya. In a major development for Indian military aviation, the prototype of Indian navy Tejas fighter has been successfully landed on the deck of India’s aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya. The LCA navy prototypes will also take off from the deck of the aircraft carrier.
Indian navy hit the headlines across the world after the naval version of the indigenously-built Tejas light combat aircraft on Sunday successfully took off from the ‘ski-jump’ deck of the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya.
The ski-jump is the upwardly curved ramp on the deck of aircraft carriers designed to provide sufficient take-off lift for fighter jets.
“The naval version of Tejas achieved another important milestone today by successfully undertaking the maiden ski-jump take-off from INS Vikramaditya,” a Navy spokesperson said.
After successfully landing and take off by the aircraft, India has entered the list of the nations who have the capability to design such a jet which can operate from an aircraft carrier.
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) is involved in development of the naval variant of Tejas along with Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), Aircraft Research and Design Centre of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, Centre for Military Airworthiness and Certification (CEMILAC) and CSIR among others.
“This landmark event demonstrates professional commitment and synergy between various agencies ADA, HAL, CEMILAC and Indian Navy in harnessing the potential of our scientists, engineers and naval flight testing community towards meeting the expectations of the nation,” the Indian Navy tweeted.
After successful landing of the aircraft on INS Vikramaditya, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh praised DRDO and called it a “great event” in the history of the Indian fighter aircraft development programme. The naval version of Tejas light combat aircraft is still in development stage. It is expected to be inducted into Indian navy soon. The Indian Air Force has already inducted a batch of Tejas aircraft.
