Background :
- Both fighters belongs to the LCA ( Light Combat Aircraft ) Category .
- Both aircrafts are Single-engine Multirole Fighters.
- Both fighters can carry a wide range of weapons including BVR ( Beyond-Visual-Range) & WVR (Within-Visual-Range) missiles .
- Tejas Mk-1 is a unique Compound Delta wing fighter developed by India’s Hindustan Aeronautics Limited ( HAL ) while the FA-50 is light combat version of T-50 Advanced trainer which is heavily based on Lockheed Martin’s F-16 and was jointly developed by America’s Lockheed Martin & South Korean Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) .
- Tejas Mk-1 entered active service with the Indian Air Force’s No.45 squadron ‘Flying Daggers’ in July 2016 . T-50 and its armed variant FA-50 entered operational service with South Korean Air Force around 2005 and 2013 respectively .
- Both Jets use Elta EL/M-2032 Multi-mode radar and also use the same GE F404 Afterburning Turbofan engines ( different variants of GE F404).
Let us compare these Two Light Combat Fighters using their known specifications as evaluation benchmarks.
1 | Crew :
Tejas Mk-1 : 1
FA-50 : 2
2 | Unit Price :
Tejas Mk-1 : 24 million USD as of 2014
FA-50 : 30 million USD as of 2012
Advantage : Tejas Mk-1 because its significantly cheaper than FA-50.
3 | Air-to-Air Refueling Capability :
Tejas Mk-1 : Available
FA-50 : Not Available
Advantage : Tejas Mk-1
4 | Empty weight:
Tejas Mk-1 : 6,560 kg (14,300 lb)
FA-50 : 6,470 kg (14,264 lb)
5 | Max Take-off Weight :
Tejas Mk-1 : 13,500 kg
FA-50 : 12,300 kg
Advantage : Tejas Mk-1
6 | Maximum Speed :
Tejas Mk-1 : Mach 1.8 ( 2,205 km/h )
FA-50 : Mach 1.5 ( 1,640 km/h )
Advantage : Tejas Mk-1
7 | Ferry Range :
Tejas Mk-1 : 1,750 km
FA-50 : 1,851 km
Advantage : FA-50
8 | Thrust / Weight Ratio ( TWR ) in Clean configuration :
Tejas Mk-1 : 1.02
FA-50 : 0.96
Advantage : Tejas Mk-1
9 | Total No. of Hardpoints :
Tejas Mk-1 : 8
FA-50 : 7
Advantage : Tejas Mk-1
10 | Max G-limits :
Tejas Mk-1 : +8 G / – 3.5 G
FA-50 : +8 G / – 3 G
Advantage : Tejas Mk-1
11 | Service ceiling :
Tejas Mk-1 : 16,000 m (52,500 ft)
FA-50 : 14,630 m (48,000 ft)
Advantage : Tejas Mk-1 because it can fly much higher.
12 | Thrust with Afterburner :
Tejas Mk-1 : 89.8 kN
FA 50 : 78.7 kN
Advantage : Tejas Mk-1
13 | Main Guns :
Tejas Mk-1 : 1× 23 mm twin-barrel GSh-23 cannon
FA-50 : 1× 20 mm (0.787 in) General Dynamics A-50 3-barrel
Advantage : Tejas Mk-1 , because it has higher caliber gun with higher firing rate.
14 | Flight Control System (FCS ):
Tejas Mk-1 : Quadruplex digital fly-by-wire
FA-50 : Triplex digital fly-by-wire
Advantage : Tejas Mk-1 . Quadruplex FBW is more Advanced than Triplex FBW which means Tejas will be easier to fly and control compared to FA-50 .
15 | Helmet Mounted Sight ( HMS ) :
Tejas Mk-1 : DASH HMS Integrated
FA-50 : Not Integrated
Advantage : Tejas Mk-1
16 | High Off Bore Sight (HOBS) Shoot Capability :
Tejas Mk-1 : Yes
FA-50 : No
Advantage : Tejas Mk-1
17 | Beyond Visual Range Combat Capability :
Tejas Mk-1 : Yes with Derby missile Integrated
FA-50 : BVR capable but No BVR missile Integrated as of now .
Advantage : Tejas Mk-1
18 | Radar System :
Tejas Mk-1 : EL/M-2032 Pulse-Doppler Multi Mode Radar
FA-50 : EL/M-2032 Pulse-Doppler Multi Mode Radar
Advantage : TIE . Both uses the same radar .
19 | Wing Loading :
Tejas Mk-1 : 259 kg/m²
FA-50 : 378 kg/m²
Advantage : Tejas Mk-1’s Lower wing loading allows it to turn tighter than FA-50 during Dogfights.
20 | Internal Fuel Carrying Capacity :
Tejas Mk-1 : 2,458 kg
FA-50 : 2,220 kg
Advantage : Tejas Mk-1
21 | External Fuel Carrying Capacity :
Tejas Mk-1 : Total 3125-litres in 3 Fuel Tanks
FA-50 : Total 1,710 litres in 3 Fuel Tanks
Advantage : Tejas Mk-1
22 | On Board Oxygen Generation System (OBOGS) :
Tejas Mk-1 : Available
FA-50 : Available
Advantage : TIE
23 | NVG Compatible Glass cockpit :
Tejas Mk-1 : Yes
FA-50 : Yes
Advantage : TIE
24 | Total No. of Accidents :
Tejas Mk-1 : None
FA-50 : 1 Friendly fire Accident involving FA-50 , 4 Accidents involving T-50 variant.
CONCLUSION
From the above comparison , HAL Tejas seems to have better performance compared to the LM/KAI FA-50 in most of the benchmarks in their current configuration.
Please note that the future upgrades and variants can change the outcome of similar comparison.
Please Note :
This was a basic specification comparison between the HAL Tejas Mk-1 & FA-50 .
The data has been derived from the manufacturer websites and other media sources.
In case of any question/suggestion , please drop us a comment down below.
WRITTEN BY : Vishal Ahuja ( Guest Writer )
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