On Home Turf: HAL at Aero India 2019

Unlike the past, this (12th) edition of Aero India was under new ‘Management’, with the Defence Exhibitions Organisation (DEO) having been unceremoniously ousted (writing was on the wall at DefExpo 2018).  Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), with their Corporate Office and several complexes in Bangalore, were given the ‘honour’ of organising this Show which was inaugurated on 20 February and continued till the last (public) day, 24 February.   Even though Air Force Station Yelahanka is not HAL ‘territory’, it operates a score or more HAL-built aircraft, essentially the Dornier 228 which imparts multi-engine conversion training to every future transport pilot of the Air Force, Navy and Coast Guard (see above image).

Aero India 2019 certainly provided an opportunity for HAL to not only showcase its range of products and services but also was a platform for the Chairman to stand up against the barrage of criticism it has had to face over the past year, much of it unreasonable and unfair (see Vayu Issue I/2019 ; In Defence of HAL).

HAL Chairman R Madhavan with image of Dassaut Rafale aircraft

HAL Chairman R Madhavan came out strongly that HAL was the only Company in India capable of manufacturing the 110/114 MMRCAs as and when the orders are placed. He continued in that HAL was not interested in ‘offsets’ but in ‘actual manufacturing’. HAL’s Bangalore Complex is steadily producing Tejas LCAs, and by end-March 2019, would have delivered the 16th (and last) LCA Mk.I (IOC standard). 

Series production Tejas LCA Mk.Is of No.45 Squadron

With the Issue of FOC certification, production of the next standard aircraft will have begun with deliveries to the Air Force from late 2019 onwards. HAL will also be responsible for production of 83 LCA Mk.IAs which will keep its Bangalore factories busy for some years, and will hopefully continue activity with the Mk.II from the second half of the 2020s. And of course, when the futuristic AMCA goes into production.

Prashant Bhadoria who leads the design team in development of the HTT-40 

Meanwhile, the indigenous HTT-40 basic turboprop trainer is amidst flight testing and with spinning trials hopefully over later this year, expects clearance for production thereafter. In fact after certain design issues that have dogged progress of the HJT-36 have been resolved, series production of this intermediate jet trainer (informally called Sitara) will also resume at the Aircraft Division at Bangalore. 

Meanwhile, in other HAL-Complexes, the Dornier 228 light transport aircraft is being steadily produced at Kanpur, and following first deliveries of a new batch of 12 Dornier 228s with glass cockpit, another 17 aircraft will receive mid-life upgrades. 

HAL has now produced some 150 Dornier 228s, with further orders expected

HAL also showed a mockup of its new Dornier 228 glass cockpit which features four large LCD displays, two of which serve as primary flight displays with the other two being multifunction displays. The reworked avionics suite includes integrated standby instruments, a dual flight management system (FMS), a dual engine data concentrator unit, a dual attitude and heading reference system, a dual digital air data computer, and an engine indication and crew alerting system. Optional equipment will include a surveillance/weather radar, forward-looking infrared and video cameras. All of these systems are integrated through a new Arinc 429 data bus interface. 

Mr Madhavan was not forthcoming about production of more Su-30MKIs at its Nasik facility even as the last batches of this combat aircraft are being completed for delivery. 

HAL have orders for production of 222 Sukhoi Su-30MKIs and could receive further incremental orders.

HAL’s Helicopters

Pair of HAL light utility helicopters (LUH) on the flight line as ALH Mk.IV (Rudra) of Army Aviation gets airborne.

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited are certainly getting the reputation of being rotary wing aircraft experts and at Aero India 2019, showcased technology demonstrator of the Dhruv Mk III Advanced Light Helicopter with folding tail boom and main rotor blades, designated Naval Utility Helicopter in their bid to meet the Indian Navy’s requirement for the Chetak replacement.

This helicopter variant primarily designed to meet the requirements of the Indian Navy and Coast Guard  for  shipborne operations, was given pride of place at HAL’s exhibition in Hall ‘E’. The helicopter is to meet varied requirements at sea, including surveillance, staff transportation, search and rescue (SAR), medical evacuation (medevac), anti-piracy and anti-terrorism, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

ALH Mk.III with folding rotor blades for the Indian Navy

This ALH variant is in the final stages of development and is expected to fly later this year, its overall integration being carried out in conjunction with the Navy’s Project Office to confirm with stowage, take-off, and landing requirements of ship-based operations.

Helicopter with fangs