Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has completed delivery of its final operational clearance (FOC)-standard two-seat Tejas Mk 1 trainers to the Indian Air Force (IAF),...
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According to HAL, SPT7 and SPT8 incorporate improvements to their onboard autopilot and fuel systems, as well as a domestically developed software-defined radio (SDR), “enabling secure communications during operations”.
Janes understands from an industry source that HAL's Strategic Electronics Research and Development Centre (SLRDC) and the National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) developed the SDR system. The source declined to provide further details because of security concerns.
According to the source, SPT7 and SPT8 have also been integrated with the Elta EL/M-2052 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar and an air-to-air refuelling probe. Both systems will also equip the follow-on Tejas Mk 1A aircraft for the IAF.
“These features were integrated into SPT7 and SPT8 because the IAF wanted to use these last two FOC two-seaters as lead-in trainers for the Tejas Mk 1A,” the source said.