The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) office in Bengaluru
Credit: DH File Photo
New Delhi: State-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with a Russian aviation major for commercial production of a civil aircraft that may be in demand in future with the expansion of regional connectivity schemes in the growing Indian civil aviation market.
As per the pact signed with United Air Corporation, Moscow on Monday, the Bengaluru-based company will manufacture SJ-100, a twin-engine, narrow-body aircraft, for domestic customers.
The UAC is under US, European Union, and British sanctions and is described by the US Treasury as a key enterprise in Russia's military-industrial complex.
Over 200 of these aircraft have been produced and are being operated by more than 16 commercial airline operators worldwide. “SJ-100 will be the game changer for short-haul connectivity under the UDAN scheme in India,” HAL said in a statement.
The agreement was signed by Prabhat Ranjan from HAL and Oleg Bogomolov from UAC in the presence of HAL CMD D K Sunil and Vadim Badekha, Director General, UAC.
It is estimated that in the next 10 years, the Indian aviation sector will require over 200 jets in this category for regional connectivity and an additional 350 aircraft for the Indian Ocean region to serve nearby international tourist destinations.
The aircraft is in demand in the Russian market with nine airlines operating it. It has the maximum seating capacity of 103 seats and a range of over 3,500 km.
Sources said HAL and the Russian company would take more time to draft the final agreement that needs to be inked before the start of the production. Also, it has not been decided where the new assembly line will be set up.
“The manufacturing of the SJ-100 aircraft marks the beginning of a new chapter in the history of the Indian aviation industry. Manufacturing will also strengthen the private sector and create direct and indirect jobs in the aviation industry,” HAL said.
Currently, the defence PSU has assembly lines for Tejas Light Combat Aircraft, Su-30 fighter jets and the indigenous basic trainer HTT-40. It also manufactures Dornier 228 transport aircraft for the armed forces but is in the process of getting a civil certificate for the turbo-prop aircraft so that it can be sold in the civil aviation market.
The agreement is signed ahead of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to India in early December to participate in the annual India-Russia summit.