The Hindu : National : Tejas’ naval variant to take to the skies in 2009

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Tejas’ naval variant to take to the skies in 2009

Ravi Sharma

The vexing issue of sourcing material for landing gear resolved; Indian companies come to the rescue

The landing gear is being manufactured at HAL, Nasik
The Navy wants an engine of much higher thrust

BANGALORE: Having overcome the vexing issue of sourcing material for the landing gear of the indigenous naval variant of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas, the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) has slated the inaugural flight for late 2009.

The procurement of the material for the landing gear of the naval variant, which is being designed to withstand G-forces of up to 4.5G, had hit a hurdle when the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), the aircraft maker was unable to secure it from the global market. However with two Indian companies — Mishra Dhatu Nigam and Bharat Forge — delivering the required material, the landing gear is being designed and manufactured at the HAL, Nasik.

Similar to PV-5

Officials at the ADA told The Hindu that the naval fighter aircraft — a twin-seater variant with the nomenclature NP1 (naval prototype one) — would look similar to PV-5 (prototype vehicle five) of the LCA being developed for the Indian Air Force (IAF). But the similarities are only external: the naval aircraft will structurally be equipped to cater for higher landing loads and the tail arrestor hook landing system. The naval aircraft will also be powered by a more powerful engine compared to the LCA currently flying or being built for the IAF.

The LCA naval variant, which is to be used by the Navy in an air defence role from its carriers, will jockey for space on the deck with the MiG-29Ks that India is buying from Russia. It will be a replacement for the British-made Sea Harrier jump jets currently used by the Navy. The Navy has already placed intent to procure 40 aircraft.

Challenging environment

Explaining the need for a more powerful engine, officials said the environment in which the naval variant would operate was much more challenging. With only 200 metres of deck length available for a take-off, and even more crucially during landing, when the aircraft has to decelerate from speeds of 250 km per hour to zero in just 90 metres, the Navy wants an engine of much higher thrust than the LCA’s present power plant — the General Electric’s GE F404. Two engines — the GE F414 and the European consortium Eurojet’s EJ 200 — are being evaluated by the ADA, the IAF and the Navy, as a more powerful option for both, future versions of the land-based LCA and the naval variant.

Another key challenge for the naval variant’s design is the fact that while the land-based LCAs are designed for a vertical rate of descent of 3 metres per second, the naval variant will be designed for a descent of 7.5 metres a second.

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