Indian Ministry of Defense approves the purchase of 106 local-made HHT-40 trainer aircraft.

According to news released by The Print website on August 11, 2020, the Indian Defense Ministry has approved the purchase of 106 local-made HHT-40 basic trainer aircraft manufactured by the company Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.

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Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhadauria flew a sortie on the under-development HTT-40 trainer aircraft in Bengaluru on 14 November 2019. (Picture source Indian Air Force)

The Indian Ministry of Defense said, with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) having successfully developed Basic Trainer Aircraft (HTT-40) prototypes and certification process underway, the DAC (Defence Acquisition Council) approved procurement of 106 basic trainer aircraft from HAL to address the basic training requirements of the Indian Air Force (IAF).

The HAL HTT-40 is an Indian-made training aircraft designed and developed by Aircraft Research and Design Centre (ARDC) and built by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). It will replace the Indian Air Force's retired HPT-32 Deepak as a basic trainer.

The HTT-40 made its first public introduction flight on 17 June 2016, with Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar in attendance at the HAL airport in Bangalore. On 19 May 2017, the second prototype completed its maiden flight.

Citing Airforce-Technology website, the HTT-40 is a fixed-wing aircraft incorporating an all-metal airframe design. It features a bubble canopy, T-tail configuration and a retractable tricycle landing gear system with a steerable nose wheel.

The HTT-40 has a maximum take-off weight of 2,800 kg and can be configured to carry a gun, rockets and bombs to perform light combat and counter-insurgency missions. It features tandem seating, has a maximum takeoff weight of 2,800 kg. It can fly at a maximum speed of 450 km/h and can reach a maximum distance of 1,000 km.