India successfully flew its first indigenously developed fighter plane for the first time on Thursday, May 4, 2003 in Banglore.
The test is the culmination of a 17-year project aimed at ending the Indian Air Force's dependence on foreign jet manufacturers.
India has joined a club of seven to eight nations [capable] of making supersonic fighters
Vajpayee chose the name 'Tejas' (energy) for the light combat aircraft (LCA), India's second home-grown jet fighter, after witnessing a flypast that featured three indigenously designed aircraft--the LCA, the Dhruv advanced light helicopter and the intermediate jet trainer.India has spent over Rs.20 billion on the LCA programme.
"We have to look even further ahead and develop technologies for future generations of aircraft," he said.
"At the same time, we welcome collaboration with international partners in design, development and co- production," Vajpayee said, describing the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile developed by India and Russia as a "shining example" of such joint ventures.
Vajpayee also witnessed the rollout of the first of five new prototypes of the LCA at a ceremony here that was attended by Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani, Defence Minister George Fernandes, Karnataka Chief Minister SM Krishna, Indian Air Force (IAF) chief Air Chief Marshal S Krishnaswamy, top military officials and scientists.
India plans to jointly market the BrahMos with Russia and hawk other indigenous hardware, ranging from the INSAS assault rifle to the Dhruv helicopter, to boost arms exports that have stagnated at about Rs 2 billion a year.
Vajpayee indicated India's defence modernisation programme would strive for "maximum technological autonomy" to overcome crippling technology denial regimes such as the U.S. sanctions that had held up the development of the LCA. The IAF plans to induct 220 LCAs to replace its ageing fleet of Russian- designed MiG-21s that have a poor flight safety record after a string of crashes in recent years.The IAF has lost nearly 200 MiG-series jets in the past decade.
The multi-role, single-seater combat aircraft is the brainchild of Dr Abdul Kalam.
It integrates sophisticated fly-by-wire flight control and digital avionics systems.
Originally planned to fly in 1991, the project was beset by constant delays, with the sanctions imposed on critical avionics systems and engines by the United States after India's nuclear tests in 1998 taking an especially heavy toll.
It was finally completed at a cost of 25bn rupees ($536m).
Described by Indian scientists as the world's lightest multi-role combat aircraft, the LCA is currently powered by the US-made GE- 404 engine but India is working on an indigenous engine called the Kaveri, which is being tested in Russia.
The LCA is the second home-grown jet fighter developed by India after the HF-24 Marut that went into service with the IAF in the 1960s.
Vajpayee's christening of the jet is part of the government's move to give Indian names to all indigenously developed military hardware, a practice that started with missiles like the nuclear-capable Agni (Fire) and Prithvi (Earth) ballistic missiles.
The new LCA prototype rolled out Sunday will be lighter than the first two prototypes used for initial tests. Its airframe consists of more lightweight composite material than the earlier LCAs. "The (new prototype) will break the sound barrier to go into the supersonic phase very shortly," said V.K. Atre, the head of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
The prototype LCAs will be followed by the limited serial production of eight aircraft by state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited at a cost of about Rs.5 billion. The aircraft was expected to be inducted by the Indian Air Force in 2007-08. It will be armed with the indigenous ASTRA medium range air-to-air missile, close combat missiles and an integral 23mm cannon.
For those ecstatic at the projection of the Tejas' 'Made in India' tag as a symbol of indigenous capability, a sobering thought. It's engine is American, its avionics a combination of French, Israeli and Swedish components, and its carbon composite wings Italian.
Given that the three basic components of an aircraft are the engine, airframe and avionics, 'swadeshi' pride gets a dose of reality.
But the LCA achievement is nonetheless seminal because it marks the transition of the Indian military aviation industry from license manufacture regime for MiGs and Jaguars — the lowest end of the technological capability spectrum — to design and development of a state-of-the-art supersonic jet.
Except perhaps for the US, Russia and France, no other country has the capability to build a state-of-the-art aircraft entirely on is own. The 'Made in India' tag will bear credibility only when the LCA flies on the indigenous Kaveri engine, now under development.
Nevertheless, the leap, it's reasoned, is worth it, as it addresses India's 25-year indigenous fighter technology gap. The last fighter designed and developed by India was the HF-24 or the Marut, widely regarded as a technological success.
But after the good news, some more sobering thoughts. The LCA will not be available to the IAF, at the very least, till 2012. The initial deadline was 1995.
Repeated deadline slippages had made LCA something of a joke. The acronym was twisted as 'Last Chance for Arunachalam' and 'Last Chance for Abdul Kalam' (former DRDO chiefs).
If there are no further slippages, IAF expects commencement of induction in 2012, and a five-squadron strength by 2015-2017. So, Tejas got its name on Sunday, but will take another 14 years to come of age.
The fighter, whose development was partly delayed by the US sanctions imposed after the nuclear tests, can carry seven weapon stations and has a provision for inflight refuelling.
V.K. Aatre, scientific advisor to the defence minister said the Light Combat Aircraft had so far had 76 test flights.
"The aircraft is soon going to go supersonic. So far five prototypes, two technology demonstrators and eight limited series aircraft have been planned," Aatre said, adding it was expected to be inducted into Indian airforce this decade.
S. Krishnaswamy, chief of Indian Air Force, which has projected a requirement of about 200 LCA in a decade, said the aircraft still had to go through certification requirements.
Some observers say the entire project, which has already cost somewhere in the region of 25 billion rupees (543 million US dollars), has proved a bottomless pit in terms of expenditure.
Vajpayee cautioned the country's defence units not to be complacent and told them to explore the export potential for the LCA.