Article Posted on : - Jan 27, 2011

A replica of Light Combat Aircraft Tejas trainer on display during the Republic Day parade at Rajpath in New Delhi on Wednesday. A PTI photo

NEW DELHI (PTI): Showcasing its weapon manufacturing capabilities, DRDO Wednesday rolled-out the trainer version of the indigenously designed and developed Light Combat Aircraft ‘Tejas’ at the Republic Day parade here.

Appearing at the Rajpath within a month after the LCA was granted its Initial Operational Clearance (IOC), the fighter trainer was one of the main draws of the parade.

Though DRDO has earlier also paraded the Tejas fighter at the majestic parade, this was for the first time that the premier defence research agency brought out the trainer version for public display.

The trainer version with its ‘drooped nose’ looks different from the fighter version and has been especially designed keeping in mind the restricted vision of trainee pilots.

Tejas is India's first supersonic fighter aircraft, which is also the smallest and lightest in the world.

Besides Tejas, DRDO showcased an array of systems required by the Navy for underwater operations.

The Heavy Weight Torpedo ‘Varunastra’ – which is in the final stages of technology development – was also on display.

The Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) which is capable of carrying out surveillance, reconnaissance, counter-intelligence and underwater attacks for the navy too was present.

DRDO also presented before the nation the MAAREECH Decoy Systems, which divert an incoming enemy torpedo and prevents it from homing in to the targeted platform with its advanced counter-measure capabilities.