HAL project to build pseudo satellite set to get approval for govt funds: Official

Public sector undertaking Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is hoping to get approval soon for government funding to the tune of over Rs 700 crore for what is now a self-financed project to develop an indigenous High Altitude Pseudo Satellite (HAPS) as part of a drone warfare programme for the defence forces.

“We will get the approval sometime in October. First there will be a scaled prototype of about 70-feet wing span. The initial prototype may cost less than Rs 50 crore. It will take a minimum of 3-4 years to develop HAPS. We are already working on its design. Moreover, funds will be utilised over a long period of time,” an official working closely with the project said.

HAL chairman R Madhavan confirmed to The Indian Express that an institutional prototype will be ready soon.