India's defence ministry on Tuesday signed agreement with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to procure 70 HTT-40 Basic Trainer Aircraft for Rs 6,800 crore.

It has also signed a contract with Larsen & Toubro Limited (L&T) for procurement of three Cadet Training Ships in the presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi.

Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane along with other senior civil & military officials of MoD and representatives of HAL & L&T were present during the signing and exchanging of contracts, stated a press release.

The Union Cabinet had, on March 01, 2023, approved the procurement of 70 HTT-40 trainer aircraft from HAL at a cost of over Rs 6,800 crore, in a major boost to the Government’s efforts to achieve ‘Atmanirbharta’ in defence.

It had also cleared signing of contract with L&T for acquisition of three Cadet Training Ships from L&T, worth more than Rs 3,100 crore under Buy {Indian-IDDM (Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured)} category.

About HTT-40 Trainer

The HTT-40 is a turbo prop aircraft possessing good low speed handling qualities and provides better training effectiveness. This fully aerobatic tandem seat turbo trainer has an air-conditioned cockpit, modern avionics, hot re-fuelling, running change over and zero-zero ejection seats.

The aircraft will meet the shortage of basic trainer aircraft of Indian Air Force for training of newly-inducted pilots. The procurement will include associated equipment and training aids including simulators. Being an indigenous solution, the aircraft is configurable for upgrades to incorporate the futuristic requirements of the Indian Armed Forces. The aircraft will be supplied over a period of six years.

The HTT-40 contains approx. 56% indigenous content which will progressively increase to over 60% through indigenisation of major components and subsystems. The HAL would engage the domestic private industry, including MSMEs, in its supply chain. The procurement has the potential to provide direct and indirect employment to thousands of people spread over more than 100 MSMEs.