India’s Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) revealed a model of the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) Tejas AF Mk 2 Medium Weight Fighter (MWF) at Aero India 2019.
The Tejas AF Mk 2 MWF, which was displayed on 20 February, is being pitched to the Indian Air Force (IAF) to fit into its medium multirole fighter requirement and as a potential replacement of the Dassault Mirage 2000 fleet.
The Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA), which handles the Tejas jet program, decided on a new name for the concept aircraft after concluding that it was a heavier jet than the baseline LCA Mk.1 and with significantly greater weapons carrying capacity. The name change could perplex the casual observer, wondering if this new Medium Weight Fighter has anything to do with India’s fifth-generation stealth jet concept, the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), an entirely separate program that Livefist has detailed here.
The Tejas AF Mk 2 MWF is an enhanced version of the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), with modifications comprising a slightly longer length of 14.6 m and wingspan of 8.5 m (compared with 13 m and 8.2 m respectively for the LCA) to enhance its payload-carrying capabilities.
The Tejas AF Mk 2 MWF also has a compound delta wing with close-coupled canards to help reduce drag in almost all angles of attack.
The maximum weight of the aircraft is 17.5 tonnes, which enhances its weapons carrying capacity to up to 6.5 tonnes, and it is equipped with a higher thrust General Electric GE-F414-INS6 engine that features a Full Authority Digital Electronics Control (FADEC) system. Additional features of the Tejas AF Mk 2 MWF include an infrared search-and-track (IRST) sensor, a missile approach warning system (MAWS), and an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar.
