India's indigenous Light Combat Aircraft Tejas on Saturday for the first time participated in an international air show, an event witnessed by external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj in the Bahraini capital.
Swaraj, who is here on a two-day visit to attend the first ministerial meeting of the India-Arab League Cooperation Forum on Sunday, went for the air show immediately after landing at the Bahrain International Airport.
On the sidelines of the Bahrain International Air show at Sakhir Airbase, Swaraj also called on Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. She, along with the king, also watched the Sarang helicopter team of the Indian Air Force in action.
After the indigenously-developed Dhruv helicopter - part of the Sarang team - demonstrated its capabilities in the skies with four helicopters mesmerizing the huge crowd gathered at the event, Tejas took flight for the first time at an international air show.
Swaraj also visited the India pavilion at the air show where the scientists gave the minister a briefing on Tejas.
The Tejas flight was hailed by officials present here as a "historic event" as the country hopes to explore potential export opportunities.
Tejas - a single-seat, single-jet engine, highly agile multi-role light fighter developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) - captivated the audience at the air show with its display in the skies.
Tejas, which had been in the making for over 3 decades, is a 4.5 generation aircraft with supersonic capability at all altitudes. The aircraft is tailless and has a compound delta wing design powered by a single engine.
It came from the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) programme, which began in the 1980s to replace India's ageing MiG-21 fighters. Later, the LCA was officially named "Tejas" meaning "Radiant" by the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Swaraj, who is here on a two-day visit to attend the first ministerial meeting of the India-Arab League Cooperation Forum on Sunday, went for the air show immediately after landing at the Bahrain International Airport.
On the sidelines of the Bahrain International Air show at Sakhir Airbase, Swaraj also called on Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa. She, along with the king, also watched the Sarang helicopter team of the Indian Air Force in action.
After the indigenously-developed Dhruv helicopter - part of the Sarang team - demonstrated its capabilities in the skies with four helicopters mesmerizing the huge crowd gathered at the event, Tejas took flight for the first time at an international air show.
Swaraj also visited the India pavilion at the air show where the scientists gave the minister a briefing on Tejas.
The Tejas flight was hailed by officials present here as a "historic event" as the country hopes to explore potential export opportunities.
Tejas - a single-seat, single-jet engine, highly agile multi-role light fighter developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) - captivated the audience at the air show with its display in the skies.
Tejas, which had been in the making for over 3 decades, is a 4.5 generation aircraft with supersonic capability at all altitudes. The aircraft is tailless and has a compound delta wing design powered by a single engine.
It came from the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) programme, which began in the 1980s to replace India's ageing MiG-21 fighters. Later, the LCA was officially named "Tejas" meaning "Radiant" by the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
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