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About LCA TD2

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About LCA - Technology Demonstrator 2

The first Technology Demonstrator (TD1) of LCA had its first flight on 4 th January 2001. Subsequently the LCA TD1 successfully completed its first block of flights in June 2001. These flights have confirmed performance predictions of the aircraft as well as its various systems and established 'Level 1' handling qualities of the aircraft in the flight envelope covered.   The second Technology Demonstrator (LCA TD2) has now flown on 6th June 2002.  This prototype has incorporated several improvements over the first aircraft moving closer to the production standard. This is also the  first   step  towards  preparing  LCA as an effective weapon platform. The extensive flight data on LCA-TD1 has been used by the designers to enhance system  performance  and  to prepare the aircraft for flight envelope expansion. LCA-TD2    specifically  incorporates the following changes as compared to TD1:
An indigenous Head Up Display (HUD) replaces the imported HUD.  The new HUD, developed by CSIO, Chandigarh,  has a larger field of view, three times the brightness, higher redundancy and is noiseless since the  design does not call for a cooling fan. An indigenous single LRU  Integrated Communication System (INCOM) replaces a three LRU INCOM in LCA-TD1. The new INCOM developed by HAL , Hyderabad is a second generation software based system with significant weight saving (17 Kg), reduced  volume(43% of original volume),  and improved system performance and reliability. A marginal reduction in empty weight of aircraft Longer  flight duration  with increased useable fuel Reduced noise levels in cockpit with improved ECS design
It may be recalled  here that LCA is the smallest light weight multi-role  supersonic fighter in the world in its class. The LCA program has the twin objectives  of (i) developing  an indigenous new generation frontline fighter of world class to meet the requirements of  Indian Air Force in the 21st century to replace the ageing MiG series of aircraft  (ii) creating  a technology base in the country  for advanced technology aircraft development.  LCA employs several advanced technologies in its design such as an unstable aerodynamic configuration, fly-by-wire quadruplex digital flight control system, advanced open-architecture avionics systems , a multi-mode radar, a flat rated engine and  carbon fibre reinforced composite materials (45% of airframe weight, the highest percentage ever used the world over).  Advanced Engineering concepts such as Computer Aided Engineering (design, analysis, manufacturing and testing), Concurrent Engineering, Digital Prototype, Virtual Reality Systems etc have been employed in its development.  A significant effort was put in indigenous development of several technologies concurrent with the development of the aircraft. This has  resulted in creation of a technological base within the country in terms of expertise, know-how, infrastructure and test facilities for  design, manufacture and testing in Government and private sectors as well as in  academic institutions. LCA-PV1, the first in the series of five prototype vehicles (PV), has already rolled out fully equipped  and is in advanced  stages of  system integration trials. This third aircraft is expected  to join LCA TD1 and TD2 in flight testing by the end of this year. The Government has shown its commitment to the LCA Program by approving a Limited Series Production (LSP) of eight aircraft recently. The production will be undertaken at HAL, Bangalore. A full-fledged  production team has been formed for this purpose with a GM in charge. The threat of obsolescence is a reality in present day aircraft, particularly with respect to electronic systems where the technology is fast changing. To combat this threat in the LCA Programme, a concerted effort has been made to introduce an Open-architecture Avionics system which  permits hardware scalability and upgradability  to state-of-the-art technology levels with reusability of the software.