India approves purchase of 70 HTT-40 basic trainer aircraft

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 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.

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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’.

ABOUT HTT-40

• 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 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.

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