The HAL Tejas mk 2 or the medium weight fighter ( MWF ) is a Indian single engine , canard delta wing , multi role combat aircraft designed by the Aeronautical development Agency ( ADA) in collaboration with the Aircraft Research and Design Centre ( ARDC ) of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for the Indian air force
It is the third edition of the made in india aircraft Tejas after the Tejas mk 1 and the Tejas mk 1A . The tejas mk 2 is being designed and developed to replace the aging aircrafts such as the mirages , jaguars and the mig 29 in the indian air force inventory
The first flight of the Tejas mk 2 is been estimated to commence by 2023 with the series production in 2026 and at the present stage the aircraft is undergoing metal cutting stage as of feb 2021
The main focus of the developers in developing this new aircraft is to improve the aerodynamics , range , maneuverability , internal fuel carrying capacity , etc of the Tejas mk 1A and since unlike the tejas mk 1 and the tejas mk 1a which are light fighter aircrafts the new mk 2 version is going to be a medium weight fighter like the rafale , eurofighter typhoon , mig 29 etc due to which the engineers will get more space to integrate more electronic subsystems inside the aircraft
SPECIFICATIONS
Electronics
The Tejas mk 2 will be integrated with the multi sensor data fusion which will be able to give a higher quality of situstional awareness to the pilot due to which the pilot will not need to look for different meters or dials for altitude , direction , distance from target , etc and only the important information will be displayed at the main screen of the aircraft so that the entire focus of the pilot would be on the mission not on turning off the beep sounds coming form various meters or gauges
Visuals just to depict the mess in the cockpit
The radar which would be integrated on the aircraft would be the UTTAM AESA radar which would be made from Gallium Arsenide material which would consume less power and would be very difficult to be jammed by the enemies electronic counter measures and jammers . On the same time the radar would be able to 64 targets and will be able to guide missiles at 15 targets and the radar will be also be able to differentiate between friend and foe
The aircraft will also be equipped with the made in India dual colour missile approach warning system ( DCMAWS ) which would give 3 dimensional cover to the aircraft and is just like the american DAS or the Distributed Aperture System which is installed on the american F35 due to which the aircraft will be able to monitor in all the directions for any incoming anti aircraft missile or a air to air missile
and the aircraft will also be equipped with the software defined radios and the data link 2 system which is developed by the BEL ( bharat electronics limited )which would help the aircraft to communicate with the other aircrafts , ground and army based systems and as well the naval vessels if the indian navy securely
COCKPIT
The aircraft's cockpit will be equipped with a night vision goggles compatible all glass display and in the middle of the cockpit it would contain a 20 by 8 inch wide area display just as the american F 35 lightning and the cockpit will have almost no analogue systems . The control sticks will be on the side of the ejection seat and the aircraft will also incorporate HUD ( heads up display ) and will also come up with the HOTAS or Hands on throttle and stick configuration
and the aircraft will also come up with voice command controls which means with just the voice commands of the pilot the aircraft will be able to launch missiles , bombs and if the pilot is injured the aircraft can be taken in control by the land stations and will act like a UAV and take the pilot back to the nearest airbase
Performance
- Maximum speed: Mach 2.0
- Cruise speed: 1,720 km/h
- Range: 2,500 km
- Combat range: 1,500 km
- Ferry range: 3,500 km with 3 external fuel tanks
- Service ceiling: 17,300 m or 56000 ft
- g limits: +9/−3.5
- Thruist to weight ratio: 1.00
- PRECISION GUIDED BOMBS
- SPICE SERIES
- HSLD 100 / 250 / 450 / 500
- DRDO GLIDE BOMB
- DRDO SAAW
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