India’s home-grown Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) completed seven years of service in the Indian Air Force (IAF) on 30 June, 2023. Christened Tejas in 2003 by former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, the fighter aircraft is a multi-role platform that is steadily making a name as one of the world’s premier light fighters.
Designed by the Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO), the multi-role Tejas fighter can perform the roles of air defence, maritime reconnaissance and strike, switching between roles with the press of a button.
Tejas is built to be an inherently unstable fighter, with a sophisticated quadruplex flight control system. This allows the pilot carefree handling and enhanced manoeuvrability.
