For 18 years, despite all odds, they chased a dream called LCA!

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Early 90s. India calls for global tenders for joint development in several critical technologies for its Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) program. Two of them, because of their strategic nature got no suitable response, these were the Fly-By-Wire Flight Control Laws (CLAW) and the Carbon Fiber Wing. Dr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, as the DRDO Chief, finally selected CSIR-National Aerospace Labs (NAL), Bangalore as the nodal center for developing these two critical technologies after conducting a country wide search.

Not finding adequate technical strength / expertise in any one single institution Dr Kalam formed two National teams drawing talent from several institutions, one headed by Dr. K.N. Raju for the Carbon Composite Wing and the other by Dr. Srinathkumar for developing the CLAW, and the rest now is history.

In focus in the first part of this series of TB2 (Tejas Backroom Boys) is the CLAW Team working from NAL in Bangalore. This piece is an attempt to capture what they have done over the past 18 years. As I was struggling hard to decipher my own handwriting, came a SMS from a military source, which read: “The 15th pilot (Gp Capt Venugopal) flew Tejas today and he said: Great handling qualities (HQ) and very pleasant to fly. Proud of our CLAW & Systems”. Today the CLAW Team has people drawn from NAL, ADA, DRDO, ARDC working as one team and has been so for the past 18 years. “

[size=14pt][b]CLAW is the brain of Tejas and we work for the pilot’s comfort: Shyam Chetty[/b][/size]
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“We started from scratch,” says CLAW Project Director, Shyam Chetty, whose well-crafted beard gives you a glimpse of his eye for detail and perfection. “CLAW is the brain of an aircraft and since LCA is an unstable platform, the pilot cannot fly without the CLAW. We reduce the pilot work-load and make it user-friendly. We taken on all the functionality and give him only what he needs. Everything to control is done using controls on stick and throttle (HOTAS - Hands on Throttle-And-Stick as it is popularly known). Today, the pilot demands what he wants and we provide them. There are 30 odd controls on the stick and throttle grip. When he pulls 8-9 Gs things can get very tough in the cockpit. We ensure that he is at ease by reducing his mental and physical workload (good handling qualities). Today, when we talk about Tejas, the pilot is just commanding, he is not controlling as in the earlier conventional aircraft. CLAW makes sure that everything is in place and he can hence engage in concentrating on his combat mission,” Shyam’s take-off comments were as smooth as a smooch. “When, I look back, 18 years have flown by since we started the CLAW project. We had then debated for six weeks whether to take up this project or not. Today, we are delighted that it is getting into IAF’s inventory.”

[size=14pt][b]Sanctions delayed our dreams, but we achieved much more: Girish Deodhare, APD[/b][/size]
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To be honest, Sanctions did not affect us. It might have delayed our dreams, but we achieved much more. We went in-depth into everything we did. We did not let our morale go down. We were insulated from negative Press, insults and everything that was going around. May be, our families might have undergone some trauma due to us. But then, that’s the price you pay when you put your nation before self. Our minds were very clear. We have engineers working from practically all engineering disciplines. The work was challenging enough, time was of little consequence..Fourteen hours, 16, 18 hours a day… It gave us the joy and the clock never stopped.

[size=14pt][b]Our mission is to give the pilot a predictable aircraft to fly throughout the flight envelope:  Amithab Saraf, Sc. F[/b][/size]
CLAW is the only element in LCA which has to take inputs from several other onboard systems. We breakdown the LCA flight envelope into 30,000 models and each model has 24 criteria to guarantee safety and provide good performance. We stitch the designs back into one software, the whole objective is to give the pilot predictable flying qualities throughout the flight envelope. The man-machine interface is really challenging. Our systems have been flown by a whole range of Test pilots, as NFTC had test pilots who had flown different platforms from the IAF inventory. We are the only aircraft project team who don’t have dedicated project pilots; all are on deputation from IAF or Navy for one to three years. That’s the beauty of the LCA CLAW, it has been appreciated by each and every one of the pilots who have flown it. The challenge in CLAW design is not about how fast you fly, but also how slow you can also fly. This matters especially during combat.

[u][b]We were given freedom and it mattered: Shyam Chetty [/b][/u]
The team’s strength hovered around 30 always and never went below 15. We were always transparent. We were given freedom and it mattered. The freedom to ask, the freedom to differ, and the freedom to challenge. It made all the difference. There was no hierarchy within the young team. We were called a bunch of jokers, when we started the project. We were not accepted initially by the flight crew, since we didn’t have the experience. The Americans looked at the CLAW and said it will never work. When it was taken to the US to be flown on an in-flight simulator, there were some problems. They blamed the CLAW, but later it was found out that their inflight simulator had some issues that needed sorting and the CLAW was fine.

[size=14pt][b]I couldn’t afford to buy a water purifier before 6th Pay Commission: Vijay Patel, Sc.F[/b][/size]
Lot of good people left our team due to the poor salary structure. I remember my salary was just Rs 7,000 and once went in search of a water purifier which was costing me Rs 6,000. I had to abandon the plan. Actors get paid much more than us India and Cricket stars limitless. Scientists and engineers working for national programs, what can I say? I must admit, things have changed post 6th Pay Commission. We never went behind money. We invested in knowledge and we wanted to pass on its benefits to LCA. We are happy today, that IOC is round the corner. The bigger task is ahead. FOC. Our passion will never end. It grows along with the challenges. We are now battle-ready for anything.

[size=14pt][b]Even many in the CLAW team had tough time finding brides![/b][/size]
Believe it or not! The CLAW team had to face a very unique problem back home. 10-15 years back, though. Nobody was willing to give them brides. Poor salary, poor publicity, and a project only on paper and parts till then! “My marriage was almost fixed, and I liked the girl, her father said that he would get back in a week. And, that week never came! Finally, we came to know that CLAW was the villain. No problems. I got married later,” says a Scientist D, who requested: “Don’t put my name.” Says Shyam: “It’s a fact and I had to sit with some youngsters to counsel them, when they came back and told me that no one was willing to marry them, because of the job profile and lower government salaries. That’s to you guys (Media), our branding was that great, then!”

Today, the CLAW team is in demand with their reach going to Space, RLVs, UAVs and many more complex national programs. Yet, with no spotlight, the backroom boys of Tejas project say that their best friend is the pilot. “They are our best advertisers. We live and work for them.” Even the pilots who have flown the Mirages, Su-30s have commented on the excellent LCA CLAW and Systems. The Regional Centre for Military Airworthiness (RCMA) issued a System Certification to the Integrated Flight Control Systems Team just hours before Tarmka007 checked in to meet them – a milestone for which they had waited 18 long years.

“We salute the greatness of Dr Kota Harinarayana and his never say die attitude that kept the people together and made them stay and work as a team. That worked wonders on all of us. Our mission is not over. May be ¾ of the work is done,”  a lot more challenges ahead concludes Shyam, introducing his entire team.

[b]The National CLAW Team: Shyam Chetty (NAL), [/b]Girish S. Deodhare (ADA), Amitabh Saraf (ADA), Vijay V. Patel (ADA), Abhay A. Pashilkar (NAL), G.K. Singh (NAL), Lakshmi P. (ADA), Ambalal V. Patel (ADA), Praveen Joshi (ADA), P.V. Satyanarayana Murthy (NAL), Niranjan Kumar Sura (ADA), M. Jayalakshmi (ADA), G. Kumaresan (NAL), Ashok K. Prajapati (ADA), Akhila M.R. (ADA), Anup Maheshwari (ADA), Hitesh M. Trivedi (ADA), S. Swaminathan (ADA), G. Anoop (ARDC), Srikumar E.R. (ARDC), Rohit M. (ARDC), Gopinath M. (ARDC), Debasish Patnaik (ARDC), Prashant Goyal (ARDC), Pardeep Singh (ARDC), Aruna G.B. (NAL), Nagaraj K. (NAL).

[b]Flight Simulation Group (FMCD, NAL):[/b] A.A. Pashikar, Moncy T. Thomas, P. Lathasree, K.P. Srikanth, C. Kamali, P. Archana Hebbar, T. Vijeesh

[b]Parameter Identification (PID) Group (FMCD, NAL)[/b]: Jatinder Singh, basappa, Sachin S. Tharewal, Md. Nishat Hussain, Khadeeja Nushrat T.K.
As everyone gathered at the terrace of the Systems Building of NAL to click some photographs, one could feel the energy levels and enthusiasm of the CLAW team and their spirit.

Calmness, despite a mammoth achievement!


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