India Joins Supersonic Club | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-11.24.25

AirborneNextGen-
11.18.25

Airborne-Unlimited-11.19.25

Airborne-AffordableFlyers-11.20.25

AirborneUnlimited-11.21.25

LIVE MOSAIC Town Hall (Archived): www.airborne-live.net

Fri, Aug 08, 2003

India Joins Supersonic Club

LCA Goes Mach 1.08

The Press Trust of India reports that India's home-grown light fighter, the Licht Combat Aircraft, or LCA, has gone faster than sound.

Wing commander Vikram Singh was quoted as having said he could tell he'd done it, without having to check any gauges, as he flew the test run: "She flew absolutely beautifully. Even if you closed my eyes, I could have felt it had gone supersonic," he said, after his 10-second supersonic experience.

That half-hour flight marked India's entry into the exclusive club of countries that have produced supersonic vehicles.

Mach 1.08 is just the start. The LCA is supposed to hit 1.8 Mach when operational, in several years. It won't be operational soon enough: India's ancient but potent MiG-21 fleet is continuing to take a toll on taxpayers, as repair and maintenance costs mount -- and on pilots, as the clunky, nasty Mach 2.1 machines find a lot of relatively low-time fighter pilots 'way behind them, often with sad results.

FMI: http://indianairforce.nic.in/

Advertisement

More News

Aero-News: Quote of the Day (11.26.25)

“We are disappointed with today’s verdict and respectfully disagree with the outcome. From the outset, we have maintained that Gogo’s independently developed 5G t>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Term (11.26.25): Takeoff Hold Lights (THL)

Takeoff Hold Lights (THL) The THL system is composed of in-pavement lighting in a double, longitudinal row of lights aligned either side of the runway centerline. The lights are fo>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (11.26.25)

Aero Linx: The 1-26 Association (Schweizer) The Association’s goal is to foster the helpfulness, the camaraderie, and the opportunity for head-to-head competition that is fou>[...]

Airborne Affordable Flyers 11.20.25: Sonex $$$, SnF 26 MOSAIC DAY, P. Ponk STCs

Also: Elfin 20 Journey, BASE Jumper Rescue, Pipistrel Makes Waves, EAA Hall of Fame, Affordable Flying Expo 2026 Like most of the industry, kit manufacturer Sonex has been hit by t>[...]

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (11.27.25)

Aero Linx: The de Havilland Moth Club Ltd The de Havilland Moth Club evolved from a belief that an association of owners and operators of Moth aeroplanes should be formed to create>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2025 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC