EXERCISE COBRA WARRIOR
Context:
• Indian Air Force will participate in a multi nation air exercise named ‘Ex Cobra Warrior 22’ at Waddington, UK from 06 to 27 March 2022.
• IAF Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas will participate in the exercise along with fighter aircraft of UK and other leading Air Forces.
About:
• The exercise is aimed at providing operational exposure and share best practices amongst the participating Air Forces, thereby enhancing combat capability and forging bonds of friendship.
• This will be a platform for LCA Tejas to demonstrate its manoeuvrability and operational capability.
• Five Tejas aircraft will fly to the United Kingdom.
• IAF C-17 aircraft will provide the necessary transport support for induction and de-induction.
Details of Tejas:
• LCA Tejas is a single-engine multirole light combat aircraft.
• The Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) programme was started by the Government of India in 1984 when they established the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) to manage the LCA programme.
• LCA Tejas was designed and developed by India’s HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited).
• It replaced the ageing Mig 21 fighter planes.
• It is the second supersonic fighter jet that was developed by HAL (the first one being HAL HF-24 Marut).
• It is the lightest and smallest multi-role supersonic fighter aircraft in its class.
• It is designed to carry a range of air-to-air, air-to-surface, precision-guided, and standoff weaponry.
Source The Hindu.
