Face of Nation : Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh was seen in a G-suit on Thursday as he preps himself up for flying in indigenously-built light combat aircraft (LCA) Tejas from the HAL airport in Bengaluru.
He will be the first defence minister to fly in the aircraft. Singh will be accompanied by Air Vice Marshal N Tiwari, National Flight Test Centre, ADA (Aeronautical Development Agency) in Bengaluru.
“All set for the day,” Singh tweeted, along with two photos of him in the G-suit. Singh, 68, will fly a sortie in the twin-seater version of Tejas from the HAL airport in the city after a briefing by Indian Air Force pilots.
Tejas became the first aircraft in India to successfully perform an “arrested landing” in Goa on September 13. The Indian Air Force (IAF) has already inducted a batch of Tejas aircraft. The naval version of the LCA is in development stage. Singh will also attend an exhibition of the products of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in Bengaluru, he said.
Initially, the IAF had placed an order with the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for 40 Tejas aircraft. Last year, the IAF issued the request for proposal (RFP) to HAL for the procurement of another batch of 83 Tejas at a cost of over Rs. 50,000 crore.
