Bengaluru: A new chapter was today scripted to the history of Indian Air Force (IAF) with the induction of the indigenously designed, developed and manufactured fly by wire light Combat Aircraft-Tejas at a simple ceremony here. Defence aviation major Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) manufactured Tejas was handed over to 45 squadron ''Flying Daggers'' .
Commanding Officer Group Captain Madhav Rangachari by Air Marshal Jasbir Walia, Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief Southern Command. It was followed by an all faith prayer meeting for the success of the Squadron and later a brilliant flight display of Tejas by Group Captain Rangachari for 7 minutes. Today IAF received two aircrafts and by the year end it would get four more and next year eight.
Briefing newsmen, Air Marshal Walia said that by the end of 2018 the full complement of the squadron would be delivered and it would then shift to the Sulur base of IAF in Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu. Necessary infrastructure was being created at Sulur to house the first fighter squadron of the Southern Command headquartered in Thiruvananthapuram.
Air Marshal Walia said ''more than two decades of hard work has fully paid off''. Tejas was a very capable aircraft and its final operational clearance was expected around March 2018, he said. He said after the first squadron of 16 combat aircraft and four trainers, the second serial production of 20 for the second squadron would be taken up. Following which IAF was expected to get 80 more aircraft of Tejas MK1A. Air Marshal Walia said once the Final Operational Clearance was obtained, Tejas would be a showpiece of the nation with a number of countries showing interest in it. (UNI)