The Modi government has approved procurement of 70 HTT-40 Basic Trainer Aircraft from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Air Force at a cost of Rs 6,828.36 crore, Defence Ministry has informed.
The aircraft will be supplied over a period of six years, officials said.
The HTT-40 is a turbo prop aircraft and is designed to have good low speed handling qualities and provide better training effectiveness.
The fully aerobatic tandem seat turbo trainer has air-conditioned cockpit, modern avionics, hot re-fueling, running change over and zero-zero ejection seats, the Defence Ministry said.
The aircraft will meet the shortage of basic trainer aircraft of IAF for training of newly-inducted pilots.
Almost 60 per cent content of the HTT-40 will be indigenous through indigenisation of major components and subsystems.
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited will engage Indian private industry, including MSMEs in its supply chain, the defence ministry release said.
This new procurement order will generate new employment opportunities to about 1,500 personnel and indirect employment for up to 3,000 people across 100 MSMEs.
(With inputs from agencies)
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