THE LIGHT COMBAT AIRCRAFT MARK-II: INDIA’S QUEST TOWARDS BALANCING REGIONAL AIR COMBAT CAPABILITIES

The Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Mark-II is the flagship, under-development product of the LCA Program, that was itself conceived in the early 1980s. While the Program itself has been afflicted by delays due to various causes, the completion of the TEJAS LCA Mark-I deliveries and the optimistic delivery timelines for the improved Mark-IA variant, should augur well for the fructification of the LCA Mark-II project, which promises to be a shot in the arm, in as far as maintaining favourable regional airpower balance in the coming years is concerned.

As a feather in the cap of the domestic aerospace industry, the TEJAS LCA Mark-I saw manufacture as a fourth-generation fighter aircraft that would go on to incorporate all three self- reliance goals set out for it- a fly-by-wire control system, multi-mode radar (MMR) and an afterburning turbofan engine (ATE), in addition to digital avionics and a composite material structure. The LCA is now the smallest and lightest supersonic fighter aircraft in its class, with 70% indigenous components. As on date, 38 of the 40 TEJAS Mark-I (the contract comprising of 32 fighter variants and 8 trainer variants) have been delivered to the Indian Air Force (IAF), which operates the aircraft in two frontline squadrons. This is a result of two contracts for 20 (16+4) aircraft each, signed in March 2006 and December 2010. The remaining two trainer aircraft are scheduled to be delivered by the end of this month. All these aircraft are powered by the United States (US) General Electric (GE) Aviation,  F404 afterburning turbofan engine, which was also the powerpack for the US Navy’s F/A- 18 Super Hornet deck-based fighter, F-117 stealth fighter and the Swedish JAS 39 Gripen, among others.

A decade later, a contract for 73 TEJAS LCA Mark-IA fighter aircraft and 10 twin-seat trainer aircraft worth Rs. 48,000 Crores was finally inked with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), post clearance by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) during Aero India 2021.  This 4.5-Generation, all-weather, multirole fighter boasts more than 40 design improvements over Mark-I (including a new avionics package and an expanded weapons suite, incorporating DRDO’s ASTRA Beyond-Visual-Range Air-to-Air Missile [BVR AAM] and the European multinational Missile Development Agency [MBDA-UK] Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missile [ASRAAM]). Later deliveries would also be equipped with the Uttam AESA Radar, with improved targeting and electronic warfare (EW) capabilities. In response, HAL had, in August 2021, placed an order worth Rs. 5375 Crores with GE Aviation, for supply of 99 upgraded F404-GE-IN20 engines for the LCA, in support of the initial ‘firm’ contract for 123 LCA Mark-IA for the IAF. In November 2023, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) granted approval for an additional 97 Tejas Mark-IA fighter aircraft. This would bring the number of requisitioned LCA Mark-IA to 180, effectively catering for nine additional squadrons, which itself would greatly remove the IAF’s present fighter squadron deficit of 11 squadrons.   Ironically, the delivery of the aircraft, initially planned for March 2024, has been plagued by delays, mainly due to the non-availability of the power-pack. In February this year, during Aero India 2025 at Bengaluru, HAL acknowledged the Chief of Air Staff’s now well-known concerns regarding these delays and assured expedited production once the engines are supplied by GE. Negotiations are also underway to co-produce the more advanced GE-F414 engines in India to mount on later tranches of the LCA Mark-IA and the LCA Mark-II, aiming to mitigate future delays and strengthen self-reliance. On 18 November 2023, DRDO announced that the US had approved required permits for GE Aerospace and HAL to jointly produce the GE F414 engine in India for LCA Mark-II and AMCA. The finalisation of the deal is awaited. The Mark-IA variant is presently slated for delivery commencing in the upcoming fiscal year, with HAL planning delivery of 16 to 24 aircraft annually, thereby optimistically looking at complete operationalisation within six years from commencement.

LCA MARK-II

Screengrab of 1:15 Scaled Model of LCA Mark-II:Source-janes.com

The LCA Mark-II Medium Weight Fighter (MWF), is a 4.5+ Generation fighter, being developed by India’s Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) in collaboration with HAL’s Aircraft Research and Design Centre (ADRC). The aircraft is a successor to the LCA Mark-I/IA, with an elongated airframe, close-coupled canards, new sensors, and the more advanced GE-F414 engine (later to be replaced by an indigenous powerpack, once developed).  The initial series production of the LCA Mark-II will boast greater than 70% indigenous content, which could ramp up to 90% following the integration of an indigenous power-pack. The Program also substantially involves private firms of the Indian Defence manufacturing ecosystem, thus giving an important boost to indigenous industry! The CCS accorded approval of Rs. 10,000 Crores in September 2022 for prototype development and flight testing of the LCA Mark-II.

The development of the LCA Mark-II was authorised in November 2009 as Phase 3 of the LCA Program (which includes the design, development and manufacture of two out of four planned prototypes), to address the shortcomings in the TEJAS LCA Mark-I and Mark-IA variants, and to meet the original air staff requirements set out for the LCA Program by the IAF. The development process is envisaged to be completed by 2027, with flight-testing commencing in 2028, final operational clearance (FOC) expected the same year and operational induction commencing shortly thereafter, courtesy dovetailing of existing technologies developed for the 5^th Generation Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) and a HAL-formed consortium to accelerate the manufacturing process. The initial commitment for the LCA Mark-II is likely to be for 120 aircraft, translating into six squadrons-this, along with the numbers requisitioned for the LCA Mark-I/IA, will allow the LCA Program as a whole to adequately address the IAF’s shortfall of fighter squadrons!

Initially planned as an improved variant of the TEJAS LCA Mark I/IA, the LCA Mark-II design has evolved into a completely new medium-weight class fighter. Interestingly, Dr. V. Madhusudana Rao, the Project Director of LCA Mark-II, in an interview at Aero India 2025, reinforced his view that the LCA Mark-II was not a TEJAS variant but an aircraft with a de noveau structure and design!

The LCA Mark-II features an enhanced modular design with 40 modules, which, along with the aircraft’s Integrated Vehicle Health Management System (IVHM), will allow for speedy maintenance/repair and short turnaround times by accurate health forecasting of systems and sub-systems; built-in low-observability (LO); enhanced range; longer mission endurance and greater payload capacity- the latter including 8 to 10 BVR AAMs as part of a single mission payload, as reiterated by the Project Director!

Low-Observability. The Project claims the LO of LCA Mark-II to be significantly better than the LCA Mark-I/IA variants, with a claimed Radar Cross-Section (RCS) of 1/4^th of the former. The design features of the LCA Mark-II will focus on achieving an enhanced degree of frontal stealth, with radar-observant material (RAM) coating, composite materials over fuselage and wings and twisted/serpentine air-intakes. The design will also feature a tail-less, compound delta-wing configuration, evident from the computer-aided design (CAD) generated by ADA.

Manoeuverability.  The tail-less compound delta-wing configuration with a single vertical stabiliser and close-coupled canards will provide static instability and high manoeuverability. Instability control will be facilitated by fly-by-wire systems.

ADA CAD Design of LCA Mark-II:Source-ada.gov.in

Avionics and Sensors. The LCA Mark-II will be capable of multi-sensor data fusion (MSDF) an imperative for all 5^th and 6^th Generation aircraft. The aircraft will feature an improved indigenous Uttam AESA Radar, an integrated Infrared Search and Track (IRST) system for passive target acquisition, a Missile Approach Warning System (MAWS), a Unified Electronic Warfare Suite for EW and counter-EW, and a Digital Flight Control Computer.  The aircraft will be capable of Network-Centric Warfare, supported by the digital information grid of the IAF. The aircraft will also feature a custom-built IVHM, as mentioned earlier, and integrated life-support system-onboard oxygen generation system (ILSS-OBOGS).

Advanced Cockpit. The aircraft will also feature a fully digitised glass cockpit. The touch-sensitive wide-area display and wide-angle holographic heads-up display will enhance pilot operation and awareness. The aircraft will also feature an advanced hands-on throttle and stick (HOTAS) as compared to the LCA Mark I/IA variants, to ease pilot fatigue. The HOTAS on the LCA Mark-II will integrate a greater number of controls for avionics, EW and sensors. It will also allow easier selection and firing of a greater number of weapons on the LCA Mark-II. The HOTAS on this aircraft will also enable quick switching between surveillance and targeting modes of the Uttam AESA radar. The LCA-Mark-II’s HOTAS will also integrate into the aircraft’s AI-based decision support systems, to enhance combat effectiveness.

Digitised Cockpit of LCA Mark-II as Visible on its Simulator at Aero India 2025:Source-youtube.com

The Project Director also mentioned an envisaged rate of production of 25 aircraft per year, owing to enhanced production facilities and modular design. This, if achieved, would allow the initial envisaged tranche of 120 aircraft to be completed within six years of commencement of production!

Salient Design Parameters of LCA Mark-II:Source-ada.gov.in

Comparison of major features of LCA Mark I/IA, Mark-II variants and Pakistan Air Force’s (PAF) latest F-16 variant, the F-16 C/D are enumerated in the table below.

Is the LCA Mark-II a Regional Game Changer?

          As is evident, the LCA Mark-II scores on a number of performance parameters and has comparable performance in others when compared with the PAF F-16C/D Block 52+, which is the latest variant of the US F-16 multi-role fighter in use with the PAF. The F-16, along with the Chinese origin JF-17 Thunder, make up approximately 50% of the PAF’s fighter fleet (discounting future Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft). It must also be taken into consideration that the JF-17 variants being operated by the PAF (a total of approximately 93 units, excluding 30 units [approximately two squadrons] of the Block-III variant) are 4^th Generation fighters, essentially lacking the 4.5 Generation fighter’s stealth shaping, integrated AESA radar, and advanced sensor fusion. Also, only the PAF F-16C/D Block 52+ may be considered a 4+ Generation fighter out of all the previous F-16 variants operated by the PAF. Compared to this, the LCA Mark-IA and Mark-II (a total of 300 units or 15 squadrons) would be 4.5 Generation fighters, thus favourably improving the regional airpower balance, once inducted.

China’s Peoples’ Liberation Army Air Force (PLAAF) continues to maintain a regional quantitative edge in terms of 4.5 Generation fighter aircraft, with approximately 1100 4.5 Generation aircraft, including the Chengdu-J10C, Shenyang-J11D, Shenyang-J16 and the Su-35, imported from Russia.

It is, therefore, imperative that production facilities are reinvigorated/ramped up to meet the production targets to allow the IAF to narrow the gap with the PLAAF and maintain a ‘generational edge’ over the PAF in fighter aircraft by the turn of the decade.

Conclusion

The LCA Program is envisioned to be the bulwark of India’s fighter aircraft fleet in the years ahead, both in the short and middle-term horizons. The LCA Mark-II, the concluding phase and future front-runner of the Program, will spearhead the IAF’s combat airpower to maintain regional relevance as a qualitatively and quantitatively potent facet of India’s military preparedness.