AKIPRESS.COM - India's first locally-built combat aircraft officially took to the skies on Friday (1st September) 33 years after it was cleared for development, marking a long-held goal of cutting expensive imports to build a domestic defence-industrial base, reports PTI.

India's fighter aircraft fleet, made up of a mix of Russian, British and French planes, is down to 33 squadrons as against the air force's requirement of 45 to face Pakistan and China.

Indian Air Force officers ceremoniously marked the induction of two planes in Bengaluru. Later, the aircraft took off in the colours of the air force as fire tenders sprayed water on the tarmac in a military ritual.

"Moment of national pride. Indigenously developed Tejas fighter jet inducted into Air Force. Tejas will take our air strength to new heights," Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar, who has led the drive for indigenisation, said in a Twitter post.

Tejas has had no accident in 3,000 hours of flying and its use of composites helps lower its radar signature, making it harder to detect early, air force officials said.

"The LCA is as good as any in the world in its class," said retired Air Vice Marshal Manmohan Bahadur now a fellow at the Centre for Air Power Studies in New Delhi.