June 7, 2002	Friday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 25,1423

NEW DELHI, June 6: A multi-role, domestically built light combat aircraft (LCA) was tested by India on Thursday after a considerable delay in its development, a news report said.

The white-coloured LCA took off from the Hindustan Aeronautics Airport in Bangalore at 11:50 local time. A Mirage 2000 and MIG 21 took off earlier and gave clearance for the LCA, the United News of India reported.

The LCA TD II is the second test flight, about a year after the first LCA TD I completed a set of 12 flights since its maiden flight on January 4, 2001.

Though the first batch of LCA was targeted to be inducted in 2002 into the Indian Air

Force, it could take another five to 10 years for that to happen, according to Indian Air Force sources.

The fully computer-controlled aircraft was designed for deep strike capability and was the largest ever research and development programme undertaken by the country.—dpa