JODHPUR, India — In a significant demonstration of deepening defense ties between New Delhi and Tokyo, General Takehiro Morita, Chief of Staff of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force (JASDF), completed a flight in a two-seater trainer variant of India’s indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas.
The flight took place at Jodhpur Air Force Station during the bilateral combat air exercise Veer Guardian 2026. The exercise marks a historic milestone in Indo-Japanese military defense cooperation, representing the first time JASDF Mitsubishi F-2A fighter aircraft have deployed to India for a joint air exercise. India fielded a multi-type fleet featuring the LCA Tejas, Sukhoi Su-30MKI, and Dassault Rafale fighters.
The flight by Japan’s air chief underscores growing operational familiarity and tactical interoperability between the two air forces under the Free and Open Indo-Pacific framework.
TECHNICAL OVERVIEW: HAL LCA TEJAS
* Developer / Manufacturer: Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) / Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL)
* Aircraft Class: 4.5-generation single-engine, tailless compound delta-wing light multirole fighter
* Propulsion Engine: General Electric F404-GE-IN20 afterburning turbofan delivering approximately 84 kN of thrust
* Speed & Ceiling: Maximum speed of Mach 1.6 (~1,980 km/h) with a service ceiling of 50,000 feet (15,240 meters)
* Airframe Materials: Advanced carbon-fiber composite materials constitute over 45% of the airframe by weight, significantly reducing Radar Cross Section (RCS) and structural weight
* Avionics & Flight Controls: Quadruplex digital Fly-By-Wire (FBW) flight control system, glass cockpit, integrated Electronic Warfare (EW) suite, and AESA radar architecture
* Payload & Hardpoints: 8 hardpoints for air-to-air precision missiles (including Astra, Python-5, and Derby), precision-guided air-to-surface munitions, and an internal 23mm GSh-23 twin-barrel cannon
By hosting high-ranking allied military leaders in indigenous cockpits during exercises like Veer Guardian, India continues to showcase the operational maturity of its LCA Tejas platform to international defense partners.
