HAL, BEL to manufacture UAV jointly

Speaking to reporters after delivering a talk on ‘Indian Aerospace Industry - an Odyssey’ at the CSIR foundation day programme organised at the National Aerospace Laboratories here, the HAL chief said, “The new UAV will be developed for the Army as well as the Air Force. The project is in the initial stages of bidding. BEL will do all the ground systems and HAL will manufacture the vehicle”.

Once developed, the UAV is expected to be used for reconnaissance missions. Nayak also said that HAL has developed a new engine for the IJT (Intermediate Jet Trainer), AL55, for which certification is expected in 2010. “The project is in the last phase of flight trials,” he said.

Earlier, delivering the talk, Nayak noted that India still has a long way to go in the aerospace industry, when it comes to developing radar and navigation systems.