Coimbatore : Air Officer Commanding-in Chief, Southern Area Command, Air Marshal B Suresh on Friday underlined the importance of LCA programme as the flagship for 'Make in India'.  He wanted an examination of various aspects of expanding the operational capability of the aircraft and improving its serviceability and maintainability.
   
Speaking after inaugurating the first ever LCA TEJAS operators conference at Air Force Station at Sulur, Air Marshal Suresh impressed upon the participants the need to deliberate at length regarding further improvements in avionics, radar and other systems for future programme like LCA Mk IA & II and AMCA, while working on Tejas FOC and Mk1.
    
He expressed confidence that the finest brains in military aviation that had come together at the conference would utilise the wealth of experience gained so far to make the further versions of the aircraft into one of the finest combat platforms in the world.
   
The road map and timelines for Tejas capability enhancement and measures to step up its production were also discussed during the conference, an official release said here.
     
Senior dignitaries and delegates to the conference included CMD and Chairman HAL  R Madhavan and other key officials, Dr Girish Deodhare, Director, Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) and his team, Senior officers of Operations and Maintenance Branches at Air Headquarters, Senior Officers from HQ Southern Air Command and operators of LCA at field level.
      
LCA Tejas is the second supersonic fighter aircraft built by HAL after HF-24 Marut. It is the smallest and lightest in its class of contemporary supersonic combat aircraft integrating the latest technologies and composite material structures. It was designed and developed by ADA and certified airworthy by CEMILAC.