India successfully test-flies new jet fighter

Asian Political News, Jan 8, 2001

NEW DELHI, Jan. 4 Kyodo

India successfully flew Thursday its first indigenously developed multi-role fighter plane from the southern city of Bangalore after years of delay in its development and design.

The maiden flight of the first prototype of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) lasted 20 minutes and was successful, said a Press Trust of India (PTI) report quoting Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) Director and project head Kota Harinarayana.

The ADA is the flagship agency for the project with the Hindustan Aeronautical Ltd. (HAL) as the prime contractor responsible for the airframe and other major components.

One of the world's most advanced fighter planes, the LCA has taken more than 15 years to become airborne and has cost India around $675 million so far.

The mach-speed class fighter plane project was sanctioned in the early 1980s and the first test flight was scheduled for 1996. But a 1992 foreign exchange crunch and sanctions imposed on India following its nuclear tests in 1998 have all added to the delay.

U.S. sanctions in particular hurt because U.S. contributions to the project involved the engine, the digital flight control system and some other parts, according to reports.

The LCA, one of India's most ambitious defense projects, is unlikely, however, to join air force squadrons before the end of the decade, defense experts have said.

It is estimated 40% of the Indian Air Force fleet is approaching obsolescence and the LCA success could give a boost to air might.

But the acquisition of advanced warning and control systems has been plagued with problems. India has lost more than 50 MiG-21s in accidents in the last three years and the fighter aircraft now has the dubious name ''Flying Coffin.''

Still, India is already upgrading its MiG-21s and has signed a defense deal recently for licensed production of Sukhoi-30 MK1 fighter jets, hoping to plug the gap in the country's air defense.