IAF chief RKS Bhadauria flies Tejas MK 1 FOC fighter in Bengaluru

IAF chief RKS Bhadauria flew a sortie in a Tejas MK1 FOC fighter during his two-day visit to Bengaluru on August 23-24. The CAS also met and interacted with the test crew and engineers of ADA, DRDO and HAL.

Bengaluru: Indian Air Force (IAF ) Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria flew a sortie in a Tejas MK1 FOC fighter during his two-day visit to various defence establishments in Bengaluru. As part of the visit to Bengaluru on August 23-24, the CAS met and interacted with the test crew and engineers of Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The CAS underscored the crucial role of the establishments in furthering the shared goal of building an indigenous aviation industry capability of meeting our future requirements, according to an official release.

During his visit to Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment (ASTE), the CAS was given an overview of ongoing projects and briefed on progress of operational trials. During his interaction with personnel, CAS spoke of the unique and challenging role of ASTE, noted its laudable achievements and reemphasised the need for staying ahead of the curve in order to leverage its expertise in delivering the requirements of IAF Operational units.

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The IAF chief also visited Software Development Institute (SDI), the unit tasked for undertaking development of avionics software. He noted that the sustained focus on critical projects by the Institute had contributed significantly in increasing the operational and functional capability of IAF. The CAS outlined his vision for SDI to move towards software indigenisation for integration of various weapons on IAF aircraft and achieving self-reliance in enhancing combat potential.