Tejas fighter jet 'very very capable': Singapore def minister

November 29, 2017 09:42

Singapore Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen hailed India's indigenously-built multi-role light combat aircraft Tejas as "very very capable".

As the first civilian foreigner to fly on Tejas, Ng took a half-an-hour flight in the two-seater plane piloted by Air Vice Marshal A P Singh at the Kalaikunda airbase in West Bengal.

"It is a very very capable plane," Ng told reporters after flying on Tejas.

Hailing Tejas as "very impressive", Ng said, "This is the reason why our air force trains with your air force. Pilots are superb, planes are pretty good."

Praising Air Vice Marshal Singh as a "superbly confident and supremely professional" pilot, Ng said he felt as if he was riding a car and not flying in a fighter aircraft.

"In fact the plane ride was so smooth that despite the G-turns and manoeuvres, I managed to even take some selfies," Ng said.

Asked whether Singapore is interested in buying the Tejas fighter aircraft, the minister said he was not a pilot and it was up to the technical people to take a call on it.

Indian defence sources, however, said Singapore has evinced interest in Tejas.

-- PTI

Image: Singapore Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen enjoyed a half-an-hour flight in the two-seater Tejas piloted by Air Vice Marshal A P Singh. Photograph: @Ng_Eng_Hen

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