Historical milestone as LCA Navy lands on board INS Vikrant

KOCHI: Achieving a historical milestone, LCA Navy, the Naval version of the indigenously developed Light Combat Aircraft successfully landed on board INS Vikrant, the country's first indigenous aircraft carrier on Monday.

This is the first time a fixed-wing aircraft is landing on the deck of the carrier, which is undergoing flight trials ahead of operationalisation.

"Historical milestone achieved towards #AatmaNirbharBharat by #IndianNavy as Naval Pilots carry out landing of LCA(Navy) on @IN_R11Vikrant. Demonstrates #India’s capability to design, develop, construct & operate #IndigenousAircraftCarrier with Indigenous Fighter Aircraft," the Indian Navy said in a tweet announcing the feat.

Earlier, the Navy had rejected the single-engine naval LCA as its thrust-to-weight ratio was not meeting requirements for takeoff with a full load from an aircraft carrier.

LCA Navy Landing and Take Off #INSVikrant #AatmaNirbharBharat#IndianNavy #FutureProofForce@PMOIndia @DefenceMinIndia @DefProdnIndia @HALHQBLR https://t.co/t1AakOn2pi pic.twitter.com/Q9fi91tfB1

— SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) February 6, 2023

Sources said the naval version of the LCA has been designed with stronger landing gears to absorb forces exerted by the ski jump ramp during take-off. It can get airborne within 200 metres and land within 100 metres. The Indian Navy currently operates the Mig-29K fighters for INS Vikramaditya.

The LCA (Navy) is only a technology demonstrator but the landing on the INS Vikrant is considered an achievement as it demonstrates India’s capacity to develop niche technologies for deck-based fighter operations.

It will provide the confidence to develop the twin-engine deck-based fighter, which the Navy is looking forward to.