Bangalore, Jan 22: India`s Light Combat Aircraft
(LCA) -- Tejas—on Thursday completed the 1000th sortie, a feat described by Aeronautical Development Agency sources as a landmark in the country`s aeronautical sector`s history.
The sortie lasted about 30 minutes, ADA sources said
here, adding that the chief test pilot of the National Flight
Test Centre, Capt J A Maolankar, flew the Tejas.
Since the first flight by the Technology demonstrator-1
on January 4, 2001, which lasted 18 minutes, the Tejas
programme has come a long way.
"That the programme achieved this milestone without any
major setbacks bears testimony to the skill and competence of
all the programme components. The Tejas team has become a role
model for executing large R&D programmes in the country,"
Programme Director M S Subramanyam said.
Bureau Report
