Article Posted on : - Oct 06, 2009

A File Photo of Naval LCA on display in an exhibition

NEW DELHI (BNS): India has decided to look for global partners in designing and developing the naval version of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA).

Defence News on Monday quoting a senior defence ministry official said, Lockheed Martin ran out of time in getting necessary clearances from the U.S. government to enter into a contract with India on providing consulting services in the design and development of the naval version of the LCA.

The ministry is currently looking for partners in US and other western countries. The move is seen as a further commitment by the Navy to the LCA programme, said a senior Navy official.

According to the report, the Indian Navy had ordered six naval-version LCAs only last month and has committed about $30 million for each aircraft.

The LCA will be used on a domestically built aircraft carrier, the Air Defence Ship, which is due to enter service with the Navy in 2014.

The naval version of the LCA is a small, lightweight, multirole supersonic fighter aircraftt. It is under development and is required to operate from an aircraft carrier with a "ski-jump" takeoff ramp and arrested recovery system.

The first naval prototype is being built by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL), Bangalore, and is scheduled for integration tests and first flight toward the end of this year.