Article Posted on : - Oct 16, 2009

Light Combat Aircraft (LCA). A file photo.

NEW DELHI (PTI): Moving closer to achieving Initial Operational Capability configuration for the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) by end of 2010, the Air Force conducted five-week multi-disciplinary trials of a pair of indigenous fighters at its Jamnagar air base.

"The trials entailed flight envelope expansion in various stores configurations, as well as air-to-ground weapon delivery trials in different modes of weapon delivery," a DRDO official said here Friday.

The LCA successfully demonstrated its ability to tackle targets designated visually by the pilot, officials added.

After this phase, officials said that the LCA will be enabled by its on-board navigation and attack computers to take on targets, which are not visible to the pilot.

The five-week trials were conducted by the flight test crew of the National Flight Test Centre (NFTC) including their test pilots, flight test engineers and instrumentation specialists.

"This was the first time that the Tejas aircraft have operated away from home base for so long," officials said.