USAF Chief of Staff Flies Indian LCA Tejas Fighter Jet

The US Air Force Chief of Staff General David L Goldfein has flown the Indian Air Force’s domestically built Tejas Light Combat Aircraft from an Air Force station in Jodhpur, Rajasthan.

This was the first time that a foreign military head has flown the fighter aircraft. The single-engine multi-role fighter aircraft was earlier flown by Singaporean defense minister, Ng Eng Hen from Kalaikunda airbase in November last year.

Goldfein is on an official visit to India along with US Pacific Air Force Commander General Terrence O'Shaughnessy. He landed in New Delhi on Thursday to discuss military ties between the two nations.

The Indian Air Force has in the past rejected Tejas Aircraft stating that it is not fit enough to protect the Indian skies.

The IAF had said, ‘the Tejas is far behind its competitors like the JAS 39 Gripen manufactured by the Swedish aerospace company Saab and the US made F-16 manufactured by Lockheed Martin’.