Rajnath Singh, the Defence Minister of India, on the 19th of September, became the first Union Minister to fly in the indigenous Tejas, a light combat aircraft (LCA.)
Rajnath Singh flew in the LCA Tejas in the State run aerospace, designed by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in Bengaluru, Karnataka. Initially, the IAF gave an order of 40 LCA Tejas to the HAL.
N. Tiwari, a Vice Marshal of the Indian Air Force (IAF,) flew the aircraft carrying Mr. Singh and covered the area from the HAL Airport to the City’s eastern suburbs.
After flying in the aircraft, Mr. Singh said, “I was thrilled. It was a very smooth and comfortable flight. I was enjoying the flight. I am proud of the scientists of the country as well as the organisations who have worked on developing the Tejas aircraft. Today, there is a demand for Tejas in several other countries. We have reached a position in which we can not only export fighter aircraft but also other defence equipment to other countries.”
Dr. G. Satheesh Reddy, the Chief of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO,) said, “The ‘Raksha Mantri’ controlled and flew the Tejas for some time.”
Mr. Rajnath Singh, in response to Dr. Reddy, said, “Koi problem nahi, jaise jaise N. Tiwari batate rahe, waise waise main karta raha (There was no problem. I just followed N. Tiwari’s instructions.)”
Later in the day, Mr. Rajnath is also expected to attend an exhibition of DRDO’s products in Bengaluru.
Stay tuned for further updates.
