The Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas was developed by Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL). Credit: Venkat Mangudi.

India’s Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas has conducted an arrested landing, an essential capability that will eventually enable the naval variant to operate from an aircraft carrier.

The flight test was carried out at INS Hansa Goa, the shore-based test facility of the Indian navy.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Data Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

Related Company Profiles

View all

A twin-seater variant was used for the test, although only one pilot, Commodore JA Maolankar, flew the sortie.

The LCA achieved the critical milestone following several years of flight testing and four campaigns of dedicated testing at the Goa facility.

Several Indian agencies, including the scientific community Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), HAL (ARDC), Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), and CSIR Labs are associated with the programme.

With the successful test, India now joins a select group of countries with the ability to design a deck landing aircraft.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.

The Indian Ministry of Defence said in a statement: “Today, the first-ever arrested landing of LCA (navy) at the shore-based test facility, INS Hansa Goa took place, which will pave the way for this indigenous platform to undertake aircraft carrier landing demonstration on board the Indian naval aircraft carrier, Vikramaditya.”

DRDO officials told The Economic Times that the data from the flight test will now be assessed.

Similar tests with different parameters will be conducted under a programme that will eventually test the LCA (Navy) on an aircraft carrier.

Last year, the Indian Navy carried out a series of tests to assess the deck landing capability of LCA (Navy) at INS Hansa.