Jet, Set, Fly: Sporting G Suit and aviator shades, Rajnath Singh co-pilots Tejas LCA

Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday undertook a maiden sortie on a Tejas Light Combat Aircraft from Bengaluru. Singh, who became the first Defence Minister of the country to fly in a Tejas, took to the cockpit of the fighter jet with a senior IAF officer in the front seat.

01- The spectators at the LCA division of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd were spellbound on a cloudy September morning when Union Defence Minister along with Air Vice Marshal Narmadeshwar Tiwari sortied in the indigenously-built Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LC 

Sharply dressed in the flying G-suite, holding a helmet and sporting the aviator shades, 68-year-old Rajnath Singh looked no less than a fighter pilot. (Photo | Nagaraja Gadekal, EPS)

Before flying, Singh waved at the cheering crowd. He was briefed by a team from National Flight Test Centre before his maiden flight. In a bid to familiarize him with the aircraft, he was shown the controls and the cockpit. (Photo | Nagaraja Gadekal, EPS)

The flight, which took off at 10 am from the HAL airport following a light drizzle, lasted for close to 30 minutes. (Photo | Nagaraja Gadekal, EPS)

With the Tejas experience, Rajnath Singh has become the first Indian politician and first defence minister in the country to co-pilot a Tejas. (Photo | Nagaraja Gadekal, EPS)

The Defence Minister got to ''control the aircraft for sometime,' said Dr G Sathish Reddy, DRDO chiefwhich has designed the Tejas jet. (Photo | Nagaraja Gadekal, EPS)

Right after he touched down, a very excited Singh told the media, 'It was a great experience. I was very thrilled to fly.' (Photo | Nagaraja Gadekal, EPS)

He congratulated HAL and DRDO and other agencies for the project. (Photo | Nagaraja Gadekal, EPS)