Agence France-Presse, India’s domestically built light combat aircraft successfully test fired an air-to-air missile Oct. 25 in what the defense ministry called a “significant milestone.”
The combat jet, named Tejas — the Hindi word for radiance — fired a Russian-made short-range R-73 missile off India’s west coast in Goa state.
“The historic event marks the beginning of weaponization of the… (Tejas) program,” according to a defense ministry statement.
Built by state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd., the Tejas is billed as the world’s smallest, light-weight, multi-role combat plane.
The missile test paves the way for the introduction of the aircraft into the Indian air force.
“The Tejas will be inducted into service by 2011-12,” a defense ministry official said.
The plane completed about 500 test flights by December 2005, and the Indian air force has placed an order for 20 such aircrafts with the company.
The test came a day after India successfully tested its nuclear-capable Agni-1 ballistic missile for the second time in less than a month.
India, which held nuclear weapons tests in 1998, has developed a series of nuclear and conventional missile systems as part of a missile-development program launched in 1983.
