The indigenous HTT 40 trainer being developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) took a step closer to production status with the aircraft due to complete all pending flight trials on Wednesday.
The announcement was made by a senior HAL executive. “We are done with it. It’s ready to be inducted. Of course, there will be updates as desired by the flying wing,” he wrote.
Sources in HAL said the fact that the HTT40 is ready for induction was a known fact. “HAL has now started the process of certification clearance,” a source said.
On August 11, 2020, the Defence Acquisition Council had cleared the procurement of 106 of the advanced turboprop trainers, with a Request for Proposal (RfP) issued by the Indian Air Force in February 2021.
HAL sources said they do not yet have a timeline about when the certification clearance will come, but stressed that it should not take too much time as the aircraft is a trainer.
The HTT40 is an all-metal, tandem seat aircraft powered by a 1,100 hp turboprop engine. It is slated to replace the Indian Air Force’s retired HPT-32 Deepak as a basic trainer. The first prototype was built on February 2, 2016. It first flew on May 31, 2016.
(Published 31 August 2021, 16:43 IST)
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