Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) will hand over Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas Final Operational Clearance (FOC) twin-seater trainers and HTT-40 Basic Trainer Aircraft to the Indian Air Force (IAF), and Dhruv Next Generation (NG) helicopters to Pawan Hans Limited (PHL) in Bengaluru, Karnataka, on September 18.
The handover will be in the presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Minister of Civil Aviation K Rammohan Naidu. It marks an important milestone in the country’s self-reliance journey and will highlight the role of HAL and its industry partners in strengthening the domestic aerospace ecosystem, according to a press release issued by the Ministry of Defence.
The event will also demonstrate the industry’s expanding capability to design, develop and manufacture advanced platforms for both civil and military applications, the ministry said.
Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal AP Singh, Secretary (Defence Production) Sanjeev Kumar, Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation Samir Kumar Sinha, HAL CMD Ravi K, and other senior officials from the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Civil Aviation, IAF, PHL, regulatory agencies and stakeholders from the aerospace and defence sectors will be present on the occasion.
The government has accorded high priority to promoting indigenous design, development and manufacturing in the aerospace and defence sectors.
The induction of these platforms is another step towards strengthening indigenous capabilities and reducing dependence on foreign sources, the ministry said.
