The feat was achieved days after the IAF successfully did a dry run of mid-air refuelling using the Russian-built IL-78 MKI tanker.Successful dry docking of aerial refuelling probe with the mother tanker was carried out on September 4 and 6, he said. @nsitharaman @DRDO_India @HALHQBLR @SpokespersonMoD pic.The IAF IL78, piloted by Wing Commander Siddarth Singh, accomplished the task with designers from HAL and Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) closely monitoring system parameters from the ground station at Gwalior. The IAF had ordered 40 Tejas Mark-1 version and a request for proposal was issued to HAL by the IAF in December for procurement of another batch of 83 Tejas at a cost of around Rs 50,000 crore.Watch the video of the refuelling below:The Air-to-Air refueling capability for LCA is a "force multiplier" for the @IAF_MCC, giving the aircraft the potential to stay airborne for much longer periods of time.The mid-air refuelling of Tejas came three months after it successfully fired an air-to-air beyond visual (BVR) range missile.
The milestone was achieved at 9:30 am when 1,900 kg of fuel was transferred from the mid-air refuelling tanker of Indian Air Forces (IAF) IL78 to the Tejas LSP8 at an altitude of 20,000 feet, said a release from HAL, which has developed the light combat aircraft (LCA). HAL officials said in the dry docking no fuel was transferred. "The Light Combat Aircraft (Tejas LSP8) has successfully completed the wet (actual) engagement today by transferring 1,900 kg fuel from IAF IL78 mid-air refuelling tanker," the release said.According to the HAL, the speed of Tejas was 270 knots China solenoid valve manufacturer when all the internal tanks and drop tanks were refuelled.Bengaluru: The first ever mid-air refuelling of the indigenously developed light combat aircraft Tejas was successfully carried out on Monday, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) said.com/EgmnUICp6Q— Raksha Mantri (@DefenceMinIndia) September 10, 2018."With this, India joins an elite group of countries who have developed the Air-to-Air (AAR) (refuelling) system for military class of aircraft," HAL Chairman and Managing Director R Madhavan was quoted as saying in the release.