DRDO Developing Medium Combat Aircraft

a href=”http://bp1.blogger.com/_RRbP6fpJWAc/RcxKjCanU5I/AAAAAAAAAA4/pqoluPeRaNc/s1600-h/Mca1.jpg”img id=”BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5029476849670378386″ style=”FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand” alt=”” src=”http://bp1.blogger.com/_RRbP6fpJWAc/RcxKjCanU5I/AAAAAAAAAA4/pqoluPeRaNc/s320/Mca1.jpg” border=”0″ //abr /divIndia will build its own Medium Combat Aircraft (MCA), which will be an extension of the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) program, said M. Maharajah, chief of India’s Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO).br /“We see opportunities to build an MCA and eventually a UCAV as a continuation for our efforts in this direction. I believe a succession of LCA-based platforms is what we need to preserve and keep improving avionics,” Natranjan said at the “Aerospace Technologies — Challenges and Opportunities” seminar organized by the DRDO and the Aeronautical Society of India.br /A DRDO scientist said his lab had already begun work on the MCA, which will be a fifth-generation aircraft, with input about requirements from the Indian Air Force.br /The MCA will be powered by two thrust-vector Kaveri engines and is likely to have stealth capability, the DRDO scientist said.br /Natrajan also said that the DRDO is developing variants of the LCA, including a trainer and a single-engine naval version being worked on by the Aeronautical Development Agency here.br /He said the trainer might “become an advanced jet trainer beyond [the BAE Systems] Hawk.”br /He said the trainer and naval version will share about 70 percent of their parts.br /The carrier-based variant will also have a drop-nose for better cockpit views, LEVECON for improved aerodynamics, a stronger airframe and landing gear, a fuel dumping system./divdiv /divdivSource: DefenceNews.com/div