India’s indigenously-developed Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) successfully performed its maiden air-to-air refueling (AAR) with an Indian Air Force (IAF) Il-78MKI aerial refueling tanker on Sept. 10, 2018.

During the trial, a specially modified Tejas fighter aircraft equipped with Cobham refueling probe accepted 900 kilograms of fuel from the tanker while flying with a speed of 270 knots at 20,000 ft.

The new milestone came almost a week after the first dry contact between the fighter and the tanker. Dry contact meant that no fuel was actually exchanged between the tanker and the fighter jet.

Aerial refueling, also referred to as air refueling, in-flight refueling (IFR), air-to-air refueling (AAR), and tanking, is the process of transferring aviation fuel from one military aircraft (the tanker) to another (the receiver) during flight.

The two main refueling systems are probe-and-drogue, which is simpler to adapt to existing aircraft, and the flying boom, which offers faster fuel transfer, but requires a dedicated boom operator station. The IAF Il-78MKI tankers are equipped for probe-and-drogue refueling method with three points available, i.e, it can simultaneously refuel three aircraft.

The success of these trials is a major leap for the Tejas indigenous fighter, thus enhancing its mission capability by increasing its range and payload. The ability to carry out Air-to-Air Refueling (AAR) is one of the critical requirements for the LCA to achieve its Final Operational Clearance (FOC) with the IAF.

Tejas had demonstrated “hot refueling” capability in February, when it was refueled on the ground with its engine running.

IAF currently operates nine Tejas fighters built to an Initial Operating Clearance (IOC) standard. These jets are being flown by No. 45 Squadron “Flying Daggers” based at Sulur Air Force Station in Tamil Nadu.

The Air Force has 40 Tejas Mk1s on order and will also acquire another 83 Tejas Mk-1A fighters which will incorporate design modifications and additional capabilities requested by the service.

Two prototypes of Tejas Navy, a variant of Tejas developed for the Indian Navy, are also being tested and they are scheduled to conduct trials off the deck of the Indian Navy’s sole operational aircraft carrier, INS Vikramaditya, by the end of the year.





