India's LCA goes supersonic

LCA Tejas goes supersonic

FRIDAY, AUGUST 01, 2003

BANGALORE: India’s LCA Tejas crossed a major milestone when it flew at a supersonic speed in Bangalore on Friday afternoon. The flight was piloted by Wing Commander Vikram Singh and it reached 1.1 mach speed. Top DRDO and HAL officials were present on the occasion.

Wing Commander Vikram Singh flew the first technology demonstrator of the fourth generation fighter for about 30 minutes, tailed by a Mirage 2000 and a MiG-21 aircraft, all the three aircraft flew at supersonic speed together during the flight. According to Aeronautical Development Agency sources, the test flight at supersonic speed was smooth and successful.

It is the first time that an Indian-designed combat aircraft has been able to accelerate in a level flight to supersonic speed and hold at that speed, they said. “Today’s flight, piloted by Wing Commander Vikram Singh, is Tejas’s major milestone towards expanding its flight envelop,” ADA officials said.

http://www.rediff.com/news/2003/aug/01lca.htm
http://www.mid-day.com/news/nation/2003/august/60099.htm
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