Rajnath Singh becomes first defence minister to fly in Tejas fighter

After the 30-minute sortie, the defence minister said he chose the aircraft because it was built indigenously and described the flying experience as thrilling

Bengaluru: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday flew in the Tejas fighter aircraft from HAL airport in Bengaluru, becoming the first defence minister to fly in the indigenously-built light combat aircraft (LCA). After the 30-minute sortie, the defence minister said he chose the aircraft because it was built indigenously and described the flying experience as thrilling. "Flight very smooth, comfortable, I was thrilled. It was one of the most memorable events of my life," said the 68-year-old Singh after alighting from the aircraft.

"This is an indigenous plane. So, it came naturally to me to fly in Tejas and experience the flying. It was also to check under what conditions do our fighter pilots fly these aircraft. This is why I flew in this aircraft," the minister said. "I want to congratulate HAL, DRDO and several agencies concerned. We have reached a level where we can export fighter planes across the world...Countries in Southeast Asia have shown interest in purchasing Tejas aircraft," he said.

An official said the minister also "controlled" and flew the aircraft for around two minutes. However, Singh said he was following orders. "But those two minutes were memorable," he said. "Special thanks to AVM, N Tiwari, who is also the Project Director, National Flight Test Centre, ADA (Aeronautical Development Agency) for the sortie," he said.

Catch up on all the latest Crime, National, International and Hatke news here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!