BENGALURU: The Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Naval Trainer Prototype NP5 successfully completed its maiden flight on Friday. The aircraft, which took off from HAL airport, was airborne 57 minutes with all parameters normal, according to Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
The aircraft, which incorporates the production standard airframe and rainwater compliance, maintainability improvements as well as futuristic system advancement, was captained by Capt Amit Kawade (Indian Navy) with Wg Cdr Siddarth Singh (Retd) in the rear cockpit.
Capt Kawade said the handling qualities were extremely satisfactory and all test points envisaged have been successfully completed. LCA Navy is designed and developed jointly by Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Bangalore.
The first trainer prototype NP1 was flown on April 27, 2012, and the fighter prototype NP2 on February 7, 2015. Both Naval Prototypes (NP1 and NP2) have achieved major milestones such as ski-jump take-off and arrested landing demonstrations on Shore Based Test Facility at Dabolim Airport, Goa, and operations from indigenous aircraft carriers.
LCA Navy can operate day and night
“The aircraft demonstrated 18 arrested landings and ski-jump takeoffs from INS Vikramaditya in January 2020, including hot refuelling capability. Recently, LCA Navy participated in the carrier trials from INS Vikrant and performed 10 ski-jump take-offs and arrested landings on February 6.
LCA Navy has completed the landmark achievement of being the first indigenous fighter aircraft landing on the indigenous aircraft carrier, INS Vikrant,” DRDO said in a statement. Equipped with state-of-the-art technologies such as a fly-by-wire flight control system, glass cockpit and advanced mechanical systems, LCA Navy can be operated seamlessly day and night.
It features advanced hands-free ski-jump take-off and landing flight control modes. LCA Navy Prototypes are carrier compatible and can operate with Air-to-Air weapons for combat missions. “The new prototype NP5 will soon undertake field and carrier operations from INS Vikramaditya and INS Vikrant. LCA Navy NP5 incorporates all improvements identified during the testing of NP1 and NP2 is a production-ready aircraft,” the statement added.
The addition of NP5 aircraft to the LCA Navy prototype fleet will help accelerate flight testing activities which will provide designers vital inputs towards the design and development of the Twin Engine Deck Based Fighter (TEDBF), the country’s prestigious futuristic carrier aircraft programme. LCA Navy can also serve as an effective training platform for Indian Navy pilots for operations from the aircraft carriers, the release said.