Following the news that Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) received a request for proposal (RFP) for its HTT- 40 trainer aircraft from the India’s Ministry of Defence (MoD);

Venkatesh Kandlikar, Analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers his view:

“The procurement of the HTT-40 trainer aircraft will help establish India’s indigenous manufacturing capability as over 60% of the aircraft is planned to be built with indigenous material. The RFP also indicates the Indian MoD’s assurance to the domestic aerospace manufacturing companies that the MoD is willing to pay even double the rates to build up indigenous capabilities in strategic defence equipment.

“Although the HTT-40 program had a rocky start, the Indian Air Force (IAF) welcomed the indigenous trainer after HAL showcased the prototype in 2016, and further decided to support the project. The huge numbers are expected to boost the domestic production capability and bring India closer to its vision of producing an aircraft under the ‘Make in India’ initiative.

“With the Indian MoD’s push towards indigenous manufacturing, GlobalData expects further domestic companies to start exploring the space and increase competition. It is also expected that the government will incentivize activity here after in the domestic aerospace and defense market by encouraging facilities that provide end-to-end aerospace solutions for private industry.”