Centre Inks Mega Rs 9,900-Crore Deals With HAL, L&T To Acquire 70 Training Aircraft, 3 Ships

The procurement of 70 HTT-40 trainer aircraft from HAL, worth over Rs 6,800 crore, was approved by the Union Cabinet on March 1 to achieve 'Aatmanirbharta' in the defence sector.

File photos of HTT-40 aircraft and a cadet training ship

Source : AFP

The Ministry of Defence has signed contracts with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T) for the procurement of 70 HTT-40 Basic Trainer Aircraft and three Cadet Training Ships, respectively. The signing took place in the presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and senior civil and military officials from the Ministry of Defence and representatives from HAL and L&T in New Delhi on March 7, 2023.

The procurement of 70 HTT-40 trainer aircraft from HAL, worth over Rs 6,800 crore, was approved by the Union Cabinet on March 1 to achieve 'Aatmanirbharta' in the defence sector. The Cabinet also cleared the signing of a contract with L&T for the acquisition of three cadet training ships, worth over Rs 3,100 crore, under the 'Buy Indian-IDDM (Indigenously Designed, Developed, and Manufactured)' category.

The HTT-40 is a turboprop aircraft that has good low-speed handling qualities and provides better training effectiveness. It has a fully aerobatic tandem seat turbo trainer with an air-conditioned cockpit, modern avionics, hot re-fueling, running changeover, and zero-zero ejection seats. The aircraft will meet the shortage of basic trainer aircraft for the Indian Air Force's training of newly inducted pilots. The procurement will include associated equipment and training aids, including simulators. The aircraft is configurable for upgrades to incorporate the futuristic requirements of the Indian Armed Forces. The aircraft will be supplied over a period of six years.

The HTT-40 is fitted with approximately 56% indigenous components, which will progressively increase to over 60% through indigenisation of major parts and subsystems. The HAL will engage the domestic private industry, including MSMEs, in its supply chain. The procurement has the potential to provide direct and indirect employment to thousands of people spread over more than 100 MSMEs.

The Cadet Training Ships will cater to the training of officer cadets, including women, at sea after their basic training to meet the future requirements of the Indian Navy. The ships would also provide training to cadets from friendly countries with the aim of strengthening diplomatic relations. The ships can also be deployed for evacuation of people from distress areas, Search & Rescue, and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations. The delivery of ships is scheduled to commence from 2026.

The ships will be indigenously designed, developed, and constructed at L&T's shipyard in Kattupalli, Chennai. The project will generate employment of 22.5 lakh man-days over a period of four-and-a-half years. This will encourage the active participation of Indian shipbuilding and associated industries, including MSMEs.