New Delhi: Locally developed single-engine Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas will not feature in the upcoming Republic Day flypast, an official said Thursday.
The IAF has stopped flying single-engine aircraft at the R-Day parade.
Manufactured by the HAL, the Tejas aircraft is a potent platform for air combat and offensive air support missions while reconnaissance and anti-ship operations are its secondary roles.
In February 2021, the defence ministry sealed a Rs 48,000 crore deal with Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd for the procurement of 83 Tejas MK-1A jets for the IAF.
In November last year, the ministry accorded an initial approval to procure an additional batch of 97 Tejas jets for the IAF.
Similarly, the indigenously designed and developed Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH-Dhruv) will also not be part of the Republic Day flypast as the entire fleet of military choppers has been grounded following a crash of one of them this month.
The Army, the Indian Air Force, the Navy and the Coast Guard are operating around 330 ALHs.
A Coast Guard ALH crashed at Gujarat’s Porbandar January 5 following which the armed forces grounded the entire fleet of the twin-engine choppers.
The ALH Dhruv will not be part of the Republic Day flypast over Kartavya Path January 26, an IAF official told reporters.
The choppers are likely to remain grounded till a high-level probe panel finds the root cause of the crash that killed two Coast Guard pilots and an aircrew diver.
The helicopters have been part of the Republic Day flypasts for nearly one-and-half decades.
The ALH-Dhruv, produced by state-run aerospace major Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) is a multi-role, multi-mission new generation helicopter in the 5.5-ton weight class.
The official said the Republic Day flypast will feature 22 fighter jets, 11 transport planes, seven helicopters, and three Dornier surveillance aircraft.
A Rafale fighter jet will also be part of the flypast.
The IAF’s marching contingent at the parade will comprise 144 personnel.
PTI
