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Swarajya Staff
Mar 28, 2019, 03:29 PM | Updated 03:29 PM IST
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After acquiring Final Operational Clearance (FOC) for induction into front line combat roles of the Indian Air Force, India’s indigenous supersonic Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas is now building its reputation in the South Asian and ASEAN theatre.
Tejas is currently taking part in the Langkawi International Maritime Aero Expo (LIMA-2019), a five day event in Malaysia. The show commenced on 26 March and will go on till 30 of this month.
The IAF’s official twitter account shared Tejas’s aerial display where it can be seen pulling off daredevil stunts.
#LIMA2019 : Flying readily captures the imagination of everyone, indeed display flying, epitomises daring, adventure & glamour associated with fighter flying.
— Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) March 27, 2019
The show commenced on 26 Mar 19, glimpses of #Tejas at Malaysia on 1st day of LIMA-19.@chedetofficial@SpokespersonMoD pic.twitter.com/QJ7KI5Olet
The Prime Minister of Malaysia, Mahatir Bin Mohamad and the Defence Minister of Malaysia, Mohamad Sabu also witnessed the pyrotechnics and had an interaction with the IAF team.
In 2016, Tejas took part in Bahrain Air Show as well. Egypt and Sri Lanka have so far expressed their interest in Tejas.
Tejas’ Mk1 variant is already in service in the 45th Squadron of the IAF in Sulur. 16 more Tejas Mk1 in their FOC stage are expected to join the ranks by the year end.
Production capacity of the HAL-ADA is now enhanced to build 16 LCAs per year. As the ageing MiG-21s are to be phased out soon, Tejas Mk1s are expected to fill in the void and address the ever depleting squadron numbers of the IAF.