New Delhi: The Union Cabinet today approved the procurement of 70 HTT-40 Basic Trainer Aircraft from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Air Force at a cost of Rs 6,828.36 crore. The aircraft will be supplied over a period of six years.
The HTT-40 is a turboprop aircraft and is designed to have good low-speed handling qualities and provide better training effectiveness. This fully aerobatic tandem seat turbo trainer has an air-conditioned cockpit, modern avionics, hot re-fueling, running change over and zero-zero ejection seats.
The aircraft will meet the shortage of basic trainer aircraft of IAF for the training of newly inducted pilots. The procurement will include associated equipment and training aids including simulators. Being an indigenous solution, the Aircraft is configurable for upgrades to incorporate the futuristic requirements of the Indian Armed Forces.
The HTT-40 contains approximately 56% indigenous content which will progressively increase to over 60% through the indigenisation of major components and subsystems. The HAL would engage Indian private industry, including MSMEs, in its supply chain.
The procurement has the potential to provide direct employment to approximately 1,500 personnel and indirect employment for up to 3,000 people spread over more than 100 MSMEs, the Ministry of Defence stated. It added that the acquisition of the HTT-40 will provide a fillip to the Indian Aerospace Defence ecosystem and boosts efforts towards ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’.
– global bihari bureau
