With yet another deadline for the induction of a fully operationlised Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) into the Air Force set to be missed, the Navy is getting jittery about the fighter’s ship-borne version. The naval LCA—being designed to operate from India’s indigenous Air Defence Ship (ADS)—will now be reviewed by Navy Chief Admiral Sureesh Mehta during his visit to Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) facilities in Bangalore over the weekend.

Concerned about the Navy’s Rs 1,000-crore investment in the fighter, the Chief will take stock of its development and insist on delivering the aircraft on time for induction onto the carrier. While the ADS will initially have Sea Harrier’s and Mig 29 K’s on board, it has been specially designed to operate with the indigenous fighters.

“There were initial hiccups but the naval LCA project has taken off well. Now it is crucial to coincide the arrival of the aircraft with the ADS which is scheduled to be completed by 2012,” a defence ministry official said.

However, the fighters are set to cross the 2012 timeline by a significant margin with HAL struggling to deliver the aircraft on time to the Air Force. While the official deadline for induction of the first 20 ‘initial operational clearance’ version of the indigenous aircraft is December 2010, top HAL sources confirm that delivery will not take place till late 2011.

“The first aircraft with initial operational clearance will be delivered to IAF towards the end of 2011 and it will take about an year more to get final operational clearance,” a senior HAL official involved in the project said. The Navy has made it clear that the fate of the ship borne fighter, which will require a strengthened airframe, more powerful engines and improved cockpit vision, is hinged on it first getting fully operationlised in the Air Force.

... contd.