IAF chief AP Singh to fly last sortie in Tejas fighter jet today

Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal AP Singh is set to fly the Tejas light combat aircraft (LCA) fighter jet from Jodhpur airbase on Sunday, in what will be the Indian Air Force chief’s final flight before he hangs up his uniform on October 31, officials aware of the matter said on Sunday.The aircraft that the chief of air staff will fly today is the LCA’s first variant, the Mk-1. (IAF)His final salute to the skies during the multilateral combat exercise Tarang Shakti will also turn the spotlight on the LCA’s latest Mk-1A variant, which is delayed, the next chapter in India's homegrown fighter story, the officials said.The LCA Mk-1A is finally nearing induction into the IAF after missing several deadlines. Both the IAF and state-run aircraft maker Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) are confident that the locally built, single-engine fighter will enter service by year-end.The aircraft that the chief of air staff will fly on Sunday is the LCA’s first variant, the Mk-1. The Air Force currently operates 30 LCA Mk-1 fighters and eight trainer aircraft. These are in the initial operational clearance (IOC) and the more advanced final operational clearance (FOC) configurations, the first variants of the LCA.It is among the 150 Indian and foreign aircraft participating in Tarang Shakti, which features eight air forces and 32 observer nations and concludes on Monday. The aircraft has completed more than 600 sorties, clocking around 800 hours in the air, officials said.The foreign aircraft taking part in the exercise include F-35s, F-16s, Rafales, A400Ms, A330 MRTTs (multi-role tanker transports), KC-135s, C-130s and other specialised platforms. These are operating alongside the IAF’s Sukhoi-30s, Rafales, Jaguars, Mirage-2000s, MiG-29s, LCA Mk-1s, Mi-35s, Mi-17s and IL-78 refuellers.IAF ‘denied access’ to F-35s during Tarang ShaktiThis is the first time F-35 stealth fighters are taking part in an exercise in the country. The US Air Force has brought six such stealth aircraft to Jodhpur.However, the IAF was denied access to the F-35s during the two-week exercise, prompting Singh to publicly flag the issue at a media briefing on Saturday in the presence of a senior US commander.“I was telling the PACAF commander that your people don’t let us come anywhere close to the F-35, and you talk about selling it to us. There is no offer from the US for us to buy the F-35,” Singh said.Seated beside Singh was General Kevin B Schneider, commander of US Pacific Air Forces (PACAF), accompanied by senior air force leaders from around the world. Singh was responding to a question about whether Washington had formally offered the aircraft to India. Last year, US President Donald Trump announced that the US was paving the way for India to acquire F-35 fighters.The IAF chief returned to the issue three times during the 45-minute briefing, pointing out that Indian pilots were kept at a distance from the advanced aircraft during the multinational exercise. IAF chief-designate Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit was among the officers from 40 global air forces present.Schneider cited Washington’s security protocols governing access to advanced weapons systems, saying such decisions were not his to make.