Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, Mar 12: A Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) of the Indian Air Force crashed near a hostel complex.at Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, during an operational training sortie on Tuesday after the pilot ejected safely but the jet was up in flames.
This was the first crash of the indigenous jet since it first flew 23 years ago on January 4, 2001. “The pilot ejected safely. A Court of Inquiry has been constituted to find out the cause of the accident,” the IAF said in a post on social media.
The incident occurred as the tri-service fire power demonstration exercise Bharat Shakti was underway nearby and was being witnessed by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The IAF currently operates two LCA squadrons and is set to add third squadron shortly.
A video of the pilot ejecting has surfaced, showing the fighter jet gliding at a low altitude and it moves right to left in the camera frame and the pilot opens the parachute and descends toward the ground.
The Tejas, which is not manned, is losing altitude with its landing gear open and crashed on the ground of the student’s hostel several metres away. The pilot pull the ejection seat and explosives under it blow the canopy of the fighter jet and throw them up in the air. The rockets under the seat direct the pilot in a safe direction and parachutes are deployed. During ejection, the pilots experience high g-forces reaching up to 20 times the force experienced on earth, which can cause severe injuries and can even bar them from flying.
Tejas uses the British-manufactured, Martin Baker, zero-zero ejection seats. The seats are designed to eject pilots from zero position i.e. stationary position to a considerable height to deploy parachutes. Zero position refers to zero altitude or zero speed. In the video of the crash, the pilot can be seen ejecting safely from several feet above the ground.
The zero-zero capability was developed to help pilots escape from unrecoverable situations during low-altitude or low-speed flights as well as ground mishaps during take-off or landing.
The ejection seat is part of the overall ‘Egress’ system, which means the “way to exit.” The system includes explosives under the seat, the canopy, and parachutes. The angle of ejection is crucial. The fighter jet moves forward and the line of ejection is perpendicular to it to move the pilot away from the aircraft.
In a twin-seater fighter jet, the co-pilot ejects first and then the lead pilot who sits in front. The temperature of the air blast during ejection is very high and if the lead pilot ejects first, then the co-pilot may suffer serious burn injuries.
Tejas is a single-seater fighter aircraft and a twin-seat trainer variant is also operated by the Air Force. The Indian Navy also operates the twin-seater variant. The first test flight of the Technology Demonstrator-1 (TD-1) took place in 2001. The maiden flight of the Second Series Production (SP2) Tejas aircraft of Initial Operational Clearance (IOC) configuration took place on March 22, 2016.
Light Combat Aircraft Tejas is a 4.5-generation multi-role fighter aircraft and is designed to take offensive air support and provide close combat support for ground operations. Tejas is the smallest and lightest aircraft in its class and the dimensions and the extensive use of composite structure make it lighter.
The LCA achieved Initial Operation Clearance (IOC) in December 2013 and Final Operational Clearance (FOC) in February 2019. The IAF had earlier signed two contracts with the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for 20 IOC configuration aircraft including four IOC trainers on March 31, 2006 and for 20 FOC configuration aircraft including four FOC trainers on December 23, 2010.
All through the development phase, the LCA maintained an accident free track record, an accomplishment among global flight development projects. The first IOC fighter aircraft was delivered in 2016 and the first LCA squadron No. 45 “Flying Daggers” in the IAF was formed in July 2016 with two aircraft. The second LCA squadron N0. 18 ‘Flying Bullets’ was operationalised in May 2020. The ICO and FOC standard aircraft have all been delivered and delivery of trainers is underway.
In February 2021, the Defence Ministry signed a ₹48,000 crore deal with the HAL to supply 83 Light Combat Aircraft (LCA)-Mk1A, which includes 73 LCA Tejas Mk-1A jets and 10 LCA Mk-1 trainer aircraft at the cost of ₹45,696 Crore along with design and development of infrastructure sanctions worth ₹1,202 Crore. Deliveries of M1A aircraft are scheduled to be delivered to IAF this month.
The MK-1A will have over 40 modifications over the MK1 variant including a new Electronic Warfare system, Advanced Electronically Scanning Array (AESA) radar, Beyond Visual Range (BVR) missiles and network warfare system including Software Defined Radio (SDR). In December 2023, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) approved the procurement of 97 additional LCA Mk1A at an estimated cost of ₹67,000 crore. A larger and more powerful LCA-MK2 is also under development.
