On January 4, 2001, Wing Commander Rajiv Kothiyal successfully flew the first flight of the Technology Demonstrator TD-1. Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee subsequently named the aircraft the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) “Tejas,” which means “Radiance” in the ancient Indian language of Sanskrit.
The Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) programme has made substantial progress in recent months, with the Mk1 model receiving official Final Operational Clearance (FOC) on February 20, 2019, and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) ramping up manufacturing.
