A Model of India's Medium Weight Fighter (MWF) was unveiled by ADA/DRDO at Aero India

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 a 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 reports LiveFist Defence.

While a broad sense existed on how different the MWF will be from the LCA Mk-1/1A, the model unveiled closely reflects the airframe changes that have necessitated its re-designation to an aircraft in the medium weight/Mirage-2000 category. The aircraft has a heavier airframe with changes to incorporate the General Electric F414 turbofan. Models of the LCA Tejas Mk.2 first popped up at the Aero India show in 2011, becoming a fixture in all shows since. The actual model didn’t quite reflect any significant changes from the baseline Mk-1.

So, with the Medium Weight Fighter unveiled in model form, the future path of the LCA Tejas could finally get some real shape. We’ll be reporting on this in detail tomorrow at Aero India 2019.