The DRDO has not fixed any time frame to full develop the Kaveri Aero Engine for the LCA, Tejas.LCA, Tejasrequires 90 kN thrust class engine to meet its operational requirement, whereas Kaveri Engine does not fully meet this requirement. Therefore, it has been decided to use variants of Kaveri Engine to power Unmanned Air Vehicle and also for marine applications.
Two important milestones of Kaveri project have been successfully achieved:-
(i) Completion of Official Altitude Testing for 73 hrs at Central Institute of Aviation Motors (CIAM), Russia.
(ii) Flying Test Bed (FTB) trials for 55 hrs with IL-76 Aircraftconducted at Gromov Flight Research Institute (GFRI), Russia.
Endurance testing for about 2100 hrs has been conducted at Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE).
It is planned to commence flight trials for Technology Demonstration of Kaveri Engine with LCA Tejas Mk-I in about 3 years time.
This information was given by Minister of Defence Shri A K Antony in a written reply to Shri Bal Kumar Patel in Lok Sabha.
Two important milestones of Kaveri project have been successfully achieved:-
(i) Completion of Official Altitude Testing for 73 hrs at Central Institute of Aviation Motors (CIAM), Russia.
(ii) Flying Test Bed (FTB) trials for 55 hrs with IL-76 Aircraftconducted at Gromov Flight Research Institute (GFRI), Russia.
Endurance testing for about 2100 hrs has been conducted at Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE).
It is planned to commence flight trials for Technology Demonstration of Kaveri Engine with LCA Tejas Mk-I in about 3 years time.
This information was given by Minister of Defence Shri A K Antony in a written reply to Shri Bal Kumar Patel in Lok Sabha.