Bengaluru, September 17, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) will hand over Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas Final Operational Clearance (FOC) twin-seater trainer aircraft and HTT-40 Basic Trainer Aircraft to the Indian Air Force (IAF) on Friday, marking another milestone in India’s efforts to strengthen indigenous aerospace capabilities.
HAL will also hand over Dhruv Next Generation (NG) helicopters to Pawan Hans Limited (PHL) during the ceremony, which will be attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Civil Aviation Minister K. Rammohan Naidu.
The event is expected to highlight the contribution of HAL and its industry partners to the development of India’s domestic aerospace ecosystem, including the growing capability to design, develop and manufacture advanced platforms for both military and civil applications.
IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal AP Singh, Defence Production Secretary Sanjeev Kumar, Civil Aviation Secretary Samir Kumar Sinha and HAL Chairman and Managing Director Ravi K. will also attend the event.
Senior officials from the Defence and Civil Aviation ministries, IAF, Pawan Hans, regulatory agencies and other stakeholders from the aerospace and defence sectors are expected to be present.
The government has placed emphasis on indigenous design, development and manufacturing in the aerospace and defence sectors. The induction of the platforms is aimed at strengthening domestic capabilities and reducing dependence on foreign sources.
The HTT-40 is a basic trainer aircraft developed to meet the primary training requirements of the Indian armed forces. The fully aerobatic, tandem-seat turboprop trainer features an air-conditioned cockpit, modern avionics, hot refuelling capability, quick pilot changeover and zero-zero ejection seats.
Designed around a turboprop engine, the aircraft is intended to provide favourable low-speed handling characteristics to support pilot training.
The HTT-40 features a glass cockpit and indigenously developed avionics, including radio communication and standby communication systems, VOR-ILS, TACAN, radio altimeter, Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) and an Integrated Standby Instrument System (ISIS).
The aircraft is powered by a Honeywell TPE331-12B turboprop engine.
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