BANGALORE: Much to the delight of the Indian Navy, the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Navy will take to the skies on its maiden flight in the city on Friday, after its rollout in early 2010.
The Naval Prototype (NP- 1) has been a much delayed aircraft with the Navy raising concerns time and again. The project, which is delayed by over 18 months, is said to have a host of technical challenges and unresolved issues.
The National Flight Test Centre (NFTC) is all set to carry out the first flight over a predetermined flight path.
The NFTC would be testing the performance of on board systems.
The aircraft was developed after the Defence Acquisition Council approved the developers to manufacture eight Limited Series Production for the Navy. Senior Navy officials and prominent members from the developers consortium are likely to be present during the maiden flight of LCA Navy.