By Ajai Shukla
Business Standard, 2nd Mar 23
The Union Cabinet approved buying 70 Hindustan Turbo Trainer–40 (HTT-40) basic trainer aircraft (BTA) from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Air Force (IAF) at a cost of Rs 6,828 crore.
“HAL will deliver the 70 aircraft over a period of six years,” said the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in a press release on Wednesday.
The HTT-40 is a turbo prop aircraft, designed to have good low-speed handling for better training effectiveness. This fully aerobatic, tandem-seat, turbo trainer has an air-conditioned cockpit, modern avionics, hot refuelling, running change over and zero-zero ejection seats.
“The aircraft will meet the shortage of BTAs for training of newly inducted pilots of the IAF. The purchase price will include associated equipment and training aids including simulators. Being a fully indigenous trainer, the BTA is configurable for upgrades to incorporate the futuristic requirements of the Indian armed forces,” said the MoD.
“The HTT-40, which was designed, developed, test-flown and validated by HAL, contains approximately 56 per cent of indigenous content. That will progressively increase to over 60 per cent through indigenisation of major components and subsystems,” said the MoD.
HAL says it will engage Indian private industry, including micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), in its supply chain. “The procurement has the potential to provide direct employment to approximately 1,500 personnel and indirect employment for up to 3,000 people in 100 MSMEs, said the MoD.
The acquisition of the HTT-40 provides a fillip to the Indian aerospace defence eco-system and boosts ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’.
L&T to build three Cadet Training Ships for Rs 3,100 crore
The Cabinet also approved a contract with Larsen & Toubro (L&T) for building three Cadet Training Ships for an overall cost of Rs 3,108 crore, under the Buy {Indian-IDDM (Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured)} category.
The delivery of these ships is scheduled to commence from 2026.
These ships will cater to the training at sea of officer cadets, including women, after their basic training.
Besides meeting the future personnel requirements of the Indian Navy, these ships would also be used to train cadets from friendly foreign countries with the aim to strengthen diplomatic relations.
The ships can also be deployed for evacuating people as a part of Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) missions.
The ships will be indigenously designed, developed and constructed at L&T’s Kattupalli shipyard in Chennai. The project will generate an employment of 22.5 lakh man-days over a period of four-and-half years. This is expected to encourage active participation of Indian shipbuilding and associated industries, including MSMEs.
“With the majority of the equipment and systems sourced from indigenous manufacturers, these vessels will be a proud flag bearer of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ in consonance with the ‘Make in India’ initiative of the government,” said the MoD.
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