HAL draws inspiration from old model

State-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, which is facing questions regarding its efficiency standards, has turned to the legacy of the first Made in India aircraft in a bid to regain its status as a reliable aircraft manufacturer. The new HAL trainer aircraft, HTT-40, draws inspiration from HT-2, which  was manufactured by HAL in 1953 and served the Indian Air Force as its basic trainer till 2009.

The HTT-40 will take off on its maiden flight by the middle of this year, according to the project’s deputy general manager Prashant Singh Bhadoria.

“Till now we always waited for customer funds. We waited for the IAF and Navy to tell us what they want. For the first time, we have invested Rs 350 crore of our own,’’ Bhadoria said at an Aero India seminar in Bangalore this week.

The HT 2 and HPT 32 trainers had established HAL’s credentials as a major aircraft manufacturer, but the company subsequently began focussing on licensed production of foreign aircraft.