A True Success Story of ATMANIRBHARATA - the Tejas Project

The talk will start with the genesis of the project, the formation of ADA, and the Project Definition Phase. The establishment of the National Flight Test Centre and its role in testing will be touched upon. The indigenous development of the first fly-by-wire flight control system will be covered in some detail. Next manufacture of the first Tech Demo aircraft and the route to the first flight will be covered including the effect of sanctions imposed by the USA and other western nations following Pokharan 2 in May 1998. Completion of the Tech Demo phase, full-scale engineering development, and weaponization leading to grant of Initial Operational Clearance in 2013 will be covered. Formation of the first IAF squadron in 2016 and grant of Final Operational clearance after integration of the Beyond Visual Range Air to Air missile and demonstration of air-to-air refueling capability will be covered. The last bit will be about the Naval LCA programme and the achievement of the first carrier landing in January 2020.

About the Speaker:
Air Marshal Philip Rajkumar was born in 1941, graduated with a BSc in 1960, and was commissioned in the Flying Branch of the Indian Air Force in 1962. He flew 22 operational missions in a ground attack aircraft during the Indo-Pak war in September 1965. After graduating from the French Test Pilots School in 1972 as an experimental test pilot he spent three decades participating in numerous indigenous development programmes of aircraft, systems, and weapons both as a test pilot and flight test program manager. At the request of the Scientific Advisor to the Raksha Mantri Dr Abdul Kalam, he was deputed to the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) to oversee flight testing of the Technology Demonstration phase of the Light Combat Aircraft project. After spending nine years at ADA he retired as the Director, ADA in 2003. The President awarded him the Param Vishisht Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal, and Vayu Sena Medal for his distinguished services. He was elected an Honorary Fellow of the Aeronautical Society of India in 2002.