Union Cabinet approves ₹6,800 cr deal to procure 70 HTT-40 aircrafts from HAL for Indian Air Force

The Union Cabinet has approved 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 company said in a filing with the exchanges.

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.

About HTT-40 Basic Trainer Aircraft

This fully aerobatic tandem seat turbo trainer has air-conditioned cockpit, modem 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 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 approx. 56% indigenous content which will progressively increase to over 60% through indigenisation of major components and subsystems.

HAL to engage with Indian private industry

The HAL would engage Indian private industry, including MSMEs, in its supply chain. The procurement has the potential to provide direct employment to approx. 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 fillip to the Indian Aerospace Defence ecosystem and boosts efforts towards 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' .