01 Mar , 2023 By : Monika Singh
Over the next six years Indian Air Force (IAF) will get 70 HTT-40 Basic Trainer Aircraft from state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The Union Cabinet on Wednesday (March 1, 2023) gave its approval for 70 Basic Trainers at a cost of Rs 6,800 crore.
 This basic trainer for IAF has around 56 percent indigenous content which is expected to progressively increase to around 60 percent through indigenization of components and other subsystems.
According to an official statement issued by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) this procurement will provide direct employment to almost 1,500 personnel and indirect employment for more than 3,000 people spread over 100 MSMEs. HAL will engage Indian private industry, MSMEs in its supply chain.Â
More about the Basic Trainer
This is a turbo prop aircraft and it is designed to have good low speed handling qualities and will also provide better training effectiveness, according to MoD.
It has modern avionics, hot refueling, air-conditioned cockpit, running change over and zero-zero ejection seats and is a fully aerobatic tandem seat turbo trainer.
The procurement of these trainers will help the IAF meet the shortage of basic trainers which are critical for new inducted pilots.
What will be included in the package approved?
It will include training aids including simulators, and other associated equipment and since this is an indigenous solution this basic trainer is capable of being upgraded depending on the futuristic requirements of the IAF.
Engines
Last year in July, HAL had announced that it had tied up Honeywell for the TPE331-12 family of engines which will power these Basic trainers. The two sides had inked a contract worth $100 million which is for the supply and manufacturing of 88 TPE331-12B engines/kits. The contract also includes support and maintenance services for these engines for trainers for the IAF.
HAL had received a Request for Proposal (RFP) in 2021 from the IAF for HTT-40 which is supported by other agencies such as Regional Director Aeronautical Quality Assurance (RDAQA), Centre for Military Airworthiness and Certification (CEMILAC), and Aircraft and Systems Testing Establishment (ASTE).
The initial 70 trainers will be built at the Bangalore facility of HAL and for series production it will move to Nashik as HAL is hoping to get an order of 106 basic trainers from IAF.
These are not just trainers but can also be used for aerobatics, instrument flying and close formation flights. It also has a secondary role which is navigation and night flying and can be flown for long hours (six hours) with an additional oxygen cylinder.
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