Not Abandoned N-Tejas yet

Recently Indian Navy issued Request for information (RFI) for the purchase of undisclosed numbers of Multi role Fighter which it wants to purchase for its Second Indigenous Aircraft carrier which will be built in India and will join Indian Navy by 2018. In December Mig-29K started arriving in India in semi -knocked down condition which was purchased for INS Vikramaditya, reports suggests that Indian Navy may order more Mig-29K for First Indigenous Aircraft carrier also .But recent development of purchase of second line of New Naval Fighter jet has been blamed in largely blamed by many sections of media on delays faced by the countries Indigenous Naval Tejas Project. Highly placed source based in Goa’s Naval Air Wing has confirmed (lca-tejas.org) that Indian Navy has not abandoned Naval Variant of Tejas yet and are actually very much interested in the project its self, they has been confirmation that Navy is interested in getting N-Tejas with high powered engines which Air force wants for Tejas MK-II rather then the Currently powered engines of GE. Indian Navy wants to maintain around 150 Naval Fighter aircrafts by 2020 for Carrier and Land Based operations, Navy is no hurry in Procurement of Naval Tejas since India’s first Indigenous Aircraft carrier will be operational only by 2014 at best and Navy want best of the Tejas Project .Navy also will be building a Carrier type deck close to Naval Base INS Hansa where Carrier takeoff and landing will be simulated for Training of Future pilots of Indian Navy , First Prototype of NP-1 a Naval Tejas will make to Air by end of 2010 and will also be based in INS Hansa for carrying out all necessary test to get clearance for Carrier operations , NP-1 will have design similarities with recently test flown PV-5 which is a Air force Trainer variant .




Vinayak shetti is a free lance Journalist based in Goa and also admin of www.lca-tejas.org