[welihiedginly]

The Indian Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO), in 2008, carried out its first real time hot weather endurance trials of the indigenously developed Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), Tejas, in Nagpur. The flight was subjected to repeated hot soaking cycles of 2 to 4 hours in an ambient temperature of about 40 oC, leading to aircraft surface temperatures going up to 70-75 oC. Then the LCA was made to fly at low altitudes (200m) at speeds of 1000 Km/h. The other new feature in this trial flight was the use of external fuel tanks (drop tanks) for the first time. The drop tanks can be disposed off as soon as the fuel is empty and this enables the flight to increase its range. In the test the Tejas LCA flew nonstop over 1000 Kms from Bangalore to Nagpur. This was the first such test.

Later IAF conducted trials in Rajasthan under harsher desert conditions, longer range and also multiple low, medium and high altitude flying after hot soaking.