NEW DELHI (Sputnik) — In May, the plane's manufacturer, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), said that the IAF Chief Marshal Arup Raha had carried out a test flight of Tejas, becoming the first IAF head to test the fighter.
"Air Marshal Jasbir Walia, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Air Command, inducted the LCA [Light Combat Aircraft] ‘Tejas’ at Indian Air Force’s Aircraft Systems and Test Establishment in Bengaluru," the Indian Air Force said in a statement.
Tejas has become part of the IAF's new Flying Daggers squadron. The squadron will get 18 more Tejas aircraft in 2018.
#WATCH Bengaluru: Two Tejas aircrafts, that are 'Made in India', to be inducted in Indian Air Force today.https://t.co/NIkBQxYWjr
— ANI (@ANI_news) 1 июля 2016 г.
The IAF will replace its aging MiG squadrons with Tejas by 2022.
The Tejas project began in 1985 and the aircraft was initially planned to join the Air Force in 1994. The project was later delayed and first took to the skies in 2001, but was not used by IAF pilots.
Congratulations to HAL & ADA for successful induction of the indigenously developed Tejas fighter jet. pic.twitter.com/U3Ql4IfbYv
— Manohar Parrikar (@manoharparrikar) 1 июля 2016 г.
