TEJAS Naval Prototype-2 launched off the ski jump was “trapped” on the arresting gear site situated at Shore Based Test Facility INS Hansa, Goa

For the first time, TEJAS Naval Prototype-2 successfully completes the cycle of launch and recovery necessary for aircraft carrier operations in a single sortie.

Though these tests have been carried out successfully individually earlier, this achievement is another feather in the cap of all the agencies involved in this including DRDO, ADA, HAL, and Indian Navy.

According to the Ministry of Defence (MoD), TEJAS Naval Prototype-2 launched off the ski jump was “trapped” on the arresting gear site situated at Shore Based Test Facility INS Hansa, Goa.


The TEJAS (Navy) team has had to not only conceptualise but has also experimented with the complex software modes which are involved in this. This is critical for the unique Short Take-Off but Arrested Recovery (STOBAR) concept of aircraft operations.

For achieving these successes the team has had to work on exploring and expanding the structural capabilities of the aircraft. The team has been carrying out various experiments with multiple software options and hardware configurations. This has been done to ensure that it is able to withstand the requirements of the aircraft carrier.

Several issues have to be taken into consideration while carrying out experiments with the complex software which includes multiple configurations, aerodynamic surfaces, different flight control strategies, avionics tools and display symbols to ease the piloting task.

Mid-September the TEJAS (Navy) had successfully done a short landing with arrestor wires on the Shore Based Test Facility (SBTF) and had joined a select group of countries that have the capability to design an aircraft which can land on a carrier. These include countries like the US, Russia, the UK, and France. The tests are being carried on a twin seat variant of the TEJAS (Navy).

The first time the TEJAS for the navy took off was in 2012 and from that time onward there are two prototypes that have been developed.