BENGALURU: Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Chairman T Suvarna Raju on Wednesday flew on the twin seat variant (PV5) of the Light Combat Aircraft Tejas. It was piloted by Group Captain (retd) K K Venugopal, HAL’s chief test pilot.
A statement by HAL said that Raju was taken through a set of manoeuvres in which the aircraft climbed to 30,000 feet and accelerated to a supersonic speed of 1.1 Mach. This was followed by a simulated launch of Beyond Visual Range missile on a target.
“It is a wonderful flying machine capable of being the backbone of the Indian Air Force combat power in the years to come,” Raju said after the sortie.
“The pilot demonstrated the prowess of the aircraft to attack targets on ground. An attack on the ground target was carried out by a simulated laser guided bomb. The demonstration of manoeuvring capability of the aircraft in close combat situations is an unique experience to even veteran pilots. The landing was carried out simulating low visibility conditions using the ‘automatic approach’ mode of the aircraft,” a statement from HAL said.