First FOC-standard Tejas Mk1 for India

摘要

INDIA HAS formally inducted its first final operational clearance (FOC)-standard Tejas Mk1 Light Combat Aircraft into service and stood up No 18 Squadron 'Flying Bullets' as the type's second unit. The latest version of the aircraft - which has been developed domestically by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) - was formally welcomed into Indian Air Force (IAF) service during a ceremony at Sulur Air Force Station (AFS), near Coimbatore. At the ceremony, the IAF reactivated the 'Flying Bullets' - a former MiG-27ML Bahadur squadron - as its second Tejas unit. It flew the Soviet-era variable-geometry ground-attack aircraft until April 2016 when it was disbanded. No 18 Squadron was re-formed at Sulur AFS on April 1 and accepted its first FOC-standard Tejas Mk1 on May 27. In a statement, Shri R Madhavan, chairman of HAL, said: "We are proud to deliver a much [more] lethal aircraft than the initial operational clearance (IOC) block. Apart from all the capabilities of IOC aircraft, the FOC variant additionally comes with aerial refuelling capability, close combat gun, additional drop tanks, beyond-visual-range (BVR) missile capability, updated avionics and flight control software suite."