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Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday announced that he will be visiting Kochi and Bengaluru to attend a series of official programmes, including a major ceremony to hand over indigenously developed aircraft and helicopters to the Indian Air Force (IAF) and Pawan Hans Ltd.LCA Tejas Mk1 (File photo/https:/ hal-india.co.in/)
In a post on social media platform X, the Defence Minister outlined his itinerary, stating that he will begin his day in Keralam before heading to Karnataka for defence-related engagements. Later in the evening, the Defence Minister will travel to Bengaluru, where he will preside over a key handing-over ceremony boosting India''s indigenous aerospace capabilities. "Later in the evening, I will be in Bengaluru (Karnataka) to attend the handing-over ceremony of LCA Tejas FOC Twin Seater Trainers & HTT 40 Basic Trainer Aircraft to the Indian Air Force and Dhruv NG helicopters to Pawan Hans Ltd. Looking forward to it," he added. The handover marks an important milestone in the country’s self-reliance journey as the event would highlight the role being played by HAL and its industry partners in strengthening the domestic aerospace ecosystem. It would also demonstrate the industry’s expanding capability to design, develop, and manufacture advanced platforms for both civil & military applications. Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal AP Singh, regulatory agencies and stakeholders from the aerospace & defence sectors will be present on the occasion. The Government has accorded high priority to promoting indigenous design, development and manufacturing in the aerospace & defence sectors. The induction of these platforms is another step towards strengthening the indigenous capabilities and reducing dependence on foreign sources. The two incoming trainers are built to the Final Operational Clearance (FOC) standard. The complete Mk1 fleet consists of 16 Initial Operational Clearance (IOC) fighters, 16 FOC fighters, and eight twin-seat trainers. LCA Mk1A is the most advanced version of the LCA Tejas. It is equipped with AESA Radar, EW suite consisting of radar warning and self-protection jamming, Digital Map Generator (DMG), Smart Multi-function Displays (SMFD), Combined Interrogator and Transponder (CIT), Advanced Radio Altimeter and other advances features. LCA Tejas is a 4.5 generation, all weather and multi-role fighter aircraft. The aircraft is designed to be a multi-role aircraft capable of taking up offensive air support, close combat and ground attack role at ease. It is also designed to undertake Ground Maritime Operations. (ANI)
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