The first flight of India's Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) will be delayed until at least mid-1999 by US economic sanctions imposed following India's nuclear tests.
Lockheed Martin, which was collaborating with India's Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE) on the LCA's digital flight control system, estimates that it will take India "over a year" to complete verification of the software by itself.
India's defence ministry, meanwhile, has admitted that the already delayed first flight has been pushed back from December to between April and July next year. The aircraft was rolled out in 1995 but has never been flown, mainly because of problems with the flight control system.
The US embargo has also blocked an Indian order for 30 LHTEC T800 turboshafts to power the first batch of Hindustan Aeronautics Advanced Light Helicopters (ALHs) for its navy. Deliveries were due to begin by the end of this year.
One ALH prototype is flying with T800s, and the other three are powered by Turboméca TM333s. France has not imposed sanctions on India.The TM333 engine is primarily destined for use on army versions of the helicopter.
Lockheed Martin was selected in 1993 to help the ADE design and develop the quadruplex-redundant flight control system for the LCA. When the embargo was imposed in mid-May, about 75% of the work had been completed and verification of the Indian-produced software was under way at the US company.
Indian engineers working with Lockheed Martin have returned to the Bangalore-based ADE. "They can complete the work, but it will take them longer," the US company says.
General Electric has already supplied two F404 flight test engines to power the first LCA prototypes, and does not believe the embargo will prevent the aircraft being flown.
Engine ground runs began in April, and were scheduled to be completed in June. The plan is to switch to a indigenously developed engine for the production LCA.
Integration of the flight control system, which uses Lockheed Martin-supplied computers in the four planned prototypes, is scheduled to begin in October.
Source: Flight International