In his letter to the shareholders, Hindustan Aeronautics Chairman and Managing Director C B Ananthakrishnan said India's annual arms exports will grow to ₹50,000 crore as announced by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

“Various initiatives of the GoI have given thrust on the indigenization of Defence equipment, to reduce Defence imports as well as dependence on the foreign OEMs,” he added in the letter. He also highlighted that the role of the private sector in Defence R&D is also increasing, driven by the policy initiatives from the government.

He said that to encourage R&D within the industry, by start-ups, and by academia, the Ministry of Defence has announced schemes like Innovation for Defence Excellence (iDEX), and the Technology Development Fund (TDF). Ananthakrishnan added that over the next 5 -10 years such government reforms will continue to help Defence PSUs and private industry to achieve a self-sustaining Defence industry in the country.

HAL has also invested ₹2,826.24 crore in Research and Development in FY24 which was 10.04% of the company's turnover. In the fiscal year, the company managed to develop HTT-40 Basic Trainer Aircraft, execute the maiden flight of Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Naval Trainer Prototype NP5, successfully fire indigenous Beyond Visual Range (BVR) air-to-air missile from Light Combat Aircraft (LCA).

The Navratna company had also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with General Electric, USA in the previous fiscal, for the transfer of technology and manufacturing of the GE F414 aero-engine in India for the TEJAS MK-2 Aircraft.

It had also signed an agreement with Airbus, France, to establish up to six yearly C Checks facilities for the A-320 family of aircraft at Nasik.

Agencies