By Staff Correspondent
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has taken a significant step towards achieving ‘Aatmanirbharta’ in defence, signing contracts with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T) for the procurement of 70 HTT-40 Basic Trainer Aircraft and three Cadet Training Ships, respectively. The signing ceremony took place in the presence of Minister of Defence Rajnath Singh and other senior civil and military officials of the Ministry of Defence, along with representatives of HAL and L&T.
The Union Cabinet had approved the procurement of the 70 HTT-40 trainer aircraft from HAL at a cost of over Rs 6,800 crore on March 1, 2023. The Cabinet also cleared the signing of a contract with L&T for the acquisition of the three Cadet Training Ships worth more than Rs 3,100 crore under the Buy {Indian-IDDM (Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured)} category.
The HTT-40 is a fully aerobatic tandem seat turbo trainer with an air-conditioned cockpit, modern avionics, hot re-fuelling, running changeover, and zero-zero ejection seats. The aircraft is configurable for upgrades to incorporate the futuristic requirements of the Indian Armed Forces. It contains approximately 56% indigenous content, which will progressively increase to over 60% through the indigenisation of major components and subsystems.
The aircraft will meet the shortage of basic trainer aircraft of the Indian Air Force for training newly-inducted pilots. The procurement will include associated equipment and training aids, including simulators, and will be supplied over a period of six years. HAL will engage the domestic private industry, including Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), in its supply chain, potentially providing direct and indirect employment to thousands of people spread over more than 100 MSMEs.
The Cadet Training Ships will cater to the training of officer cadets, including women, at sea after their basic training to meet the future requirements of the Indian Navy. The ships would also provide training to cadets from friendly countries with the aim of strengthening diplomatic relations. The ships can also be deployed for evacuation of people from distress areas, Search & Rescue, and Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations. The delivery of ships is scheduled to commence from 2026.
The ships will be indigenously designed, developed, and constructed at L&T’s shipyard in Kattupalli, Chennai. The project will generate employment of 22.5 lakh man-days over a period of four-and-a-half years, encouraging active participation of Indian shipbuilding and associated industries, including MSMEs.
