In what comes as another major leap for self-reliance in defence sector, the integration testing of indigenous actuators of Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas has begun at the national Iron Bird facility of HAL's Aircraft Research and Design Centre (ARDC) in Bengaluru.
According to leading defence and aerospace journalist Anantha Krishnan M, the time and frequency domain to test the integrity of the digital flight control computer (DFCC) with the flight control system (FCS) actuators, and the flight control software version of DFCC under test will be certified by Centre for Military Airworthiness & Certification (CEMILAC), a regulatory body under DRDO.
#TMHThread 🇮🇳 1/n #LCAActuators #LCA #Tejas #TejasMklA #ARDC #HAL #ADA #IAF
— Anantha Krishnan M🇮🇳 (@writetake) November 24, 2024
Desi primary actuators #DALIA all set to fly on #Tejas LSP soon
By AK/ @writetake
The integration testing of homegrown actuators of Tejas has commenced at the national Iron Bird facility of HAL's… pic.twitter.com/oa2sSLQcIu
Integration testing of actuators involves verifying that different actuator systems work together as intended within a larger system. The process is important for ensuring that the actuators communicate effectively with other components of the aircraft, perform reliably under various conditions, and meet the specified operational requirements.
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According to the report, the integration testing will lead to developmental flight testing of the DFCC along with a pair of elevon actuators on a Limited Series Production (LSP) version of the LCA-Tejas.
Although currently the primary actuators are manufactured by M/s Moog Inc, USA, indigenisation efforts are underway with Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in Kerala's Thiruvananthapuram.
"Initially there was a plan to fit in all 13 indigenous actuators (6 slat actuators, 2 airbrake actuators, 4 elevon actuators and 1 rudder actuator) on to the first LCA Mk.1A aircraft. But somehow the developmental testing, type certification and production flight of primary actuators had taken the backseat though these actuators outperform the Moog actuators on various parameters and the cost of these actuators is almost one fourth as compared to the imported ones," an HAL official told the senior journalist.
