The Defence Ministry on March 7 sealed a deal with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to procure 70 HTT-40 basic trainer aircraft at a cost of more than ₹6,800 crore for the Indian Air Force.The Defence Ministry on March 7 signed contracts worth ₹9,936 crore for the procurement of 70 HTT-40 basic trainer aircraft and three cadet training ships, in the presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
The cadet training ships will be indigenously designed, developed and constructed by Larsen & Toubro at its shipyard in Kattupalli, Chennai under a ₹3,108.09 crore deal. Delivery is scheduled to begin in 2026. The project will generate an employment of 22.5 lakh man-days over a period of four-and-half years, a Ministry statement said.
The ₹6,828.36 crore HTT-40 deal between the Indian Air Force and Hindustan Aeronautics was announced at Def Expo last October and cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Security last week. The HTT-40 is a turboprop aircraft possessing good low-speed handling qualities and training effectiveness. It is expected to meet the IAF’s shortage of basic trainer aircraft for the training of newly-inducted pilots.
“The procurement will include associated equipment and training aids including simulators,” the Ministry said. The aircraft will be supplied over a period of six years.
The HTT-40 contains approximately 56% indigenous content which will progressively increase to over 60% through indigenisation of major components and subsystems, the statement added.
