The Union Cabinet
approved the procurement of 70 HTT-40 basic trainer aircraft from Hindustan
Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
The approval was given to the Indian Air Force
(IAF). The procurement would cost around Rs 6,828 crore.
The aircraft will be supplied over a period of six years.
The HTT-40
is a turboprop aircraft designed to have good low-speed handling qualities and
provide better training effectiveness. It has a fully aerobatic tandem seat
turbo trainer with an air-conditioned cockpit, modern avionics, hot re-fueling,
running change over and zero-zero ejection seats.
The aircraft is expected to meet the shortage of
basic trainer aircraft of the IAF required for training newly inducted pilots. The
aircraft, being an indigenous solution, is configurable for upgrades to
incorporate the futuristic requirements of the IAF. The procurement will
include associated equipment, training aids and simulators.
The HTT-40 contains around 56 per cent indigenous
content, which
would increase to over 60 per cent through the indigenisation of major
components and subsystems. The HAL would engage Indian private industry,
including MSMEs, in its supply chain.
Procurement is seen as the means of
employment, which is expected to generate direct employment for nearly 1,500
personnel and indirect employment for up to 3,000 people spread over more than
100 MSMEs.
The acquisition of the HTT-40 provides a fillip to
the Indian Aerospace Defence ecosystem by boosting efforts towards
‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat