The Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd on Wednesday signed a $100-million contract with the US-based Honeywell for 88 engines to power the indigenous HTT-40 basis trainer aircraft, even as the state-owned plane manufacturer eyes a contract from the Indian Air Force for such aircraft, officials familiar with the matter said.
“HAL has successfully developed the basic trainer aircraft (HTT-40) to address the training requirements of IAF. There is a potential requirement of 70 aircraft. The contract with IAF for the same is in an advanced stage of approval,” chairman R Madhavan said.
The central government has imposed a phased ban on the import of 310 different types of weapons and systems to boost self-reliance in the defence manufacturing sector, and basic trainers feature on that list.
