Watch: First FOC-Standard LCA Tejas Successfully Completes Maiden Test Flight In Bengaluru

In a major development, the state-owned defence and aerospace major Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) on Tuesday (17 March) successfully conducted the maiden flight of the final operational clearance (FOC) standard (SP-21) variant of the indigenously developed Tejas fighter aircraft, reports Economic Times.

A video of the test flight was shared by defence website Livefist.

The flight lasted for a duration of 40 minutes and was piloted by former Indian Air Force (IAF) Air Commodore KA Muthana (Retd). He took off abroad the state-of-the-art fighter jet developed by HAL from the the HAL Airport in Bengaluru.

The said variant of the Tejas fighter jet platform is equipped with sundry advanced features including air-to-air refuelling, support for Beyond Visual Range (BVR) missiles and an array of manufacturing improvements implemented on the previous variant.

It should be noted that the FOC Sp-21 variant of Tejas fighter jet has been developed by HAL in a record time of 12 months since the release of Drawing Applicability List (DAL) and Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) by the Centre for Military Airworthiness and Certification (CEMILAC).