BENGALURU: Soaked overnight in extreme cold (around -15ºC) weather in Ladakh, light combat aircraft (LCA) Tejas’ engine required three consecutive start-ups of the engine, but the fighter fought the limitations and flew on Wednesday, achieving another milestone.“This is a rare distinction. Starting the fighter aircraft under such extreme condition without any external assistance or heating is a technology challenge. The requirements become further stringent when the starting is to be done three times consecutively with a partially charged battery,” Team Tejas said in an official press note.The engine starter is developed indigenously by HAL Aero Engine Research and Design Centre (AERDC), Bengaluru.“Prior to aircraft tests, the Jet Fuel Starter (JFS) was extensively tested on test rig to meet starting conditions across the operating altitudes including Leh (10,700 ft.) and Khardungla (18300 ft.),” the press note said.The control software of JFS was fine tuned to work at all operating altitudes with no adjustments from cockpit. GE-F404-IN20 engine start up control schedule was also varied with several control patches to establish reliable start.