Following successful weapon release trials in Jamnagar in July, the Tejas programme is speeding towards another crucial milestone with electronic warfare trials to take place in November.

The entire gamut of electronic warfare systems on board the first prototype vehicle PV-1 will be put through a series of tests towards operational clearance. Systems that will be checked out include radar warning receivers, jamming suites, self-protection suites, electronic countermeasures (ECM) and other systems. The Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) is in the process of checking out the PV-1 to ensure that it is ready in all respects for the electronic warfare (EW) flight trials. The airframe flew first in November 2003, and was replaced in the test programme after less than 250 flights as a result of consistent improvements in the later prototypes and limited series production airframes.