India’s own Light Combat Aircraft, Tejas achieved an important milestone today when the fifth Limited Series Production, LSP-5 aircraft made historic first flight in Bangalore. The aircraft took off majestically and achieved a max speed of 0.8 mach, 4G turns, and an altitude of 11 km during the 40 min flight. The regional PRO of DRDO Jayaprakash Rao said that the flight was uneventful and all systems functioned normally, clearing all the test points. He described it as another proud moment for ‘Team Tejas’ taking the endeavour close to the Initial Operational Capabilities. The LSP-5 was piloted by test pilot Lt Cdr Ankur Jain, from the Indian Navy. LSP 5 aircraft is the first Tejas fighter aircraft in the Operational Configuration of the Indian Air Force. This is the culmination of the efforts of all the stakeholders namely HAL, IAF, DRDO Labs, Defence PSUs, Centre for Military Aircraft Certification, Director General of Quality Assurance and Aeronautical Development Agency. The LSP-5 first flight was directed by Wg Cdr Sreedharan Toffeen, Test Director. Gp Capt G Thomas, Chief Test Pilot of the National Flight Test Centre piloted the chase aircraft.