Hindustan Aeronautics now has orders in hand, the challenge is delivering them on time
Atul Chandra
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is leading the government’s charge for Aatmanirbharta (self-reliance) in the aerospace and defence sector. The state-owned airframer is now contracted to deliver indigenous fighter jets, trainers and helicopters to the Indian armed forces. It is a far cry from the days when HAL was considered a ‘problem child’ to now being a vital cog in the modernisation of the Indian armed forces.
Few would quibble with the fact that HAL will play a key role in the modernisation of the armed forces but some may question if enough has been done to transform the state-owned enterprise into a more efficient and competitive aerospace firm capable of competing with the best in the world. This is certainly the best time for the airframer to shake off the vestiges of the past, as it has a strong orderbook in excess of INR 81,000 crore (as on 31 March 2023).
Delivering Tejas
In February 2021, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) awarded a contract worth nearly INR 48,000 crore for 83 Tejas Mk-1A fighter jets. The order for 73 Tejas Mk-1As and 10 LCA Tejas Mk-1 trainers is worth INR 45,696 crores along with INR 1,202 crores allocated for design and development and infrastructure sanctions. In November 2023, the MoD accorded its approval for the acceptance of necessity (AoN) for procurement of 97 additional Tejas Mk-1As.
At the time of the February 2021 contract, it was announced that deliveries of all 83 aircraft would be completed by February 2029. HAL has a total of three production lines for the Tejas Mk-1A, two in Bengaluru and one in Nashik. Deliveries of the first three Tejas Mk-1As (one fighter and two trainers) are to take place by March this year with a production rate of 16 aircraft planned annually from 2025-2029.
But the fact of the matter is that in FY2022-23, HAL produced only 22 new aircraft and helicopters, covering LCA Tejas, Dornier Do-228, ALH Dhruv, Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) and Light Utility Helicopter (LUH).
This will be a real challenge for HAL, as the Tejas Mk-1A is far removed from the fighter aircraft it has built under license such as the SU-30 MKI, Jaguar, Hawk, etc. Unlike these aircraft, the Tejas Mk-1A features heavy use of composites, is fitted with sophisticated avionics and sensors, and has an in-flight refuelling system. The in-service reputation of the Tejas Mk-1A will stem from the quality of aircraft produced by HAL at its factories. HAL and its supply chain will also have to meet stringent requirements for indigenous content on the Tejas Mk-1A, beginning with 50 per cent and progressively growing to reach 60 per cent by the end of the programme. This means that by 2029, approximately 250 out of the 344 systems fitted in the aircraft will be indigenous.
Challenging as these requirements are, unlike at any other time in the past, HAL today has long-term visibility for the production of an indigenous fighter, with government approval for the procurement of a total of 180 Tejas Mk-1A aircraft.
Trainer Revamp
In October 2022, HAL bagged the contract for 70 HTT-40 Basic Trainer Aircraft (BTA) valued at around INR 7,000 crores. The entire order is to be concluded by 2028 with HAL slated to deliver the first aircraft by September 2025. HAL plans to attain a peak production rate of 20 aircraft per annum. HAL Chairman, C.B. Ananthakrishnan stated in May 2023 that the company would initially target deliveries of 12 aircraft per year, and then move on to 16 and finally 20 aircraft per year.
While initial aircraft production as well as further development activities will be carried out in Bengaluru, the bulk production will be done from HAL’s Nashik plant. The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has approved the procurement of 106 aircraft, so HAL is expected to receive orders for an additional 36 HTT-40s once deliveries of the first order are underway.
While HAL does have substantial experience in designing, developing and delivering trainer aircraft to the Indian Air Force (IAF), including the HT-2 and HPT-32, the fully aerobatic tandem seat HTT-40 is a far cry from these aircraft, featuring an air-conditioned cockpit, modern avionics, hot re-fuelling (the ability to refuel the aircraft while the engine is running), running change over (change of aircrew while the engine is running) and zero-zero ejection seats. The HTT-40 is crucial to the IAF, as it has only a 75-aircraft fleet of Swiss-built Pilatus PC-7 MKII basic trainers and needs additional aircraft urgently, which will be used for basic flight training, aerobatics, instrument flying and close formation flights with secondary roles such as navigation and night flying training.
Rotary Wing Renaissance
HAL now has a well-established military helicopter in the Dhruv, two new models in the LCH and LUH, and a new design and development underway in the Indian Multi-Role Helicopter (IMRH). At present, HAL’s helicopter portfolio encompasses the three-tonne LCH, five-tonne ALH and LCH, and the IMRH will be a giant leap forward to the 13-tonne category. The naval variant of IMRH has been named as the Deck Based Multi Role Helicopter (DBMRH). The preliminary design activities are underway, with HAL having completed Phase 1 of Wind Tunnel testing of the IMRH and Phase 2 of Wind Tunnel testing is underway.
The Dhruv ALH is expected to eventually reach the 500-helicopter order mark, while the LCH is already planned to have a production run for 170 plus helicopters. The LUH requirement is 175 helicopters, but this could easily be doubled over the course of its production run.
HAL has successfully completed the production of the first 15 LCHs (10 IAF and 5 Indian Army), which were ordered for the army and air force at a cost of INR 3,887 crores, ahead of contract schedule. The first 15 LCHs featured an indigenous content level of 45 per cent which is due to increase to 55 per cent for Series Production (SP) helicopters. HAL is now expecting a formal contract for 156 LCH for the air force and army. At a planned production rate of 30 LCHs per month, HAL would have delivered all helicopters on contract by the end of this decade.
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