All You Must Know About Indigenous Trainer HAL HTT-40

In a boost to the defence pilot’s training capabilities on indigenous aircraft, the Hindustan Turbo Trainer-40 (HTT-40) took its inaugural flight.

The aircraft was flown by Group Captain C Subramaniam and Group Captain Venugopal for about 10 to 15 minutes at the HAL airport in Bengaluru on 17^th July in the presence of defence minister Manohar Parrikar.

Here are the key points of this pet project:

HAL HTT-40:

• The two-seater aircraft is designed and developed by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. Its design is inspired from the US Beechcraft T-6CT and the Swiss Pilatus PC-7 Mark II trainer jet.
• HTT-40 will be used for the first-stage training for all flying cadets of the three services. Indian Air Force is expected to procure 70 HTT-40 aircraft.
• The trainer consists of Digital Mock Up (DMU), real-time systems clash analysis, laser tracking of assembly jigs, six degrees of freedom, mathematical model and a complete glass cockpit.
• Almost 50 per cent of the 4,000-odd components on HTT-40 are manufactured by private companies.
• HTT-40 aircraft weighs about 2,800 kg.
• It is powered by the Honeywell TPE331-12B turboprop engine of 950 shp class.

DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT:

• While the HTT-40 programme was almost junked during the UPA rule, Parrikar pushed both IAF and HAL to ensure the development of the trainer.
• Unlike Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas and other projects, which are dependent on advances from the government in the development stages, the HAL has earmarked ₹350 crore from its own funds for the project.
• According to HAL, the team behind HTT-40 programme is “young” with an average age of 29 when it started.

HAL HTT-40 IN BUSINESS:

• The programme aims to achieve its operational clearance by 2018, and towards this, the company will be manufacturing three prototypes and two static-test specimens.
• The trainer could be up to 25 percent cheaper than the imported trainer and may also generate business of ₹ 3,000-4,000 crore for vendors from Bengaluru and Hyderabad in future.
• HAL projects it will build the first two HTT-40 trainers in 2018, eight in 2019, and reach its capacity of 20 a year from 2020.
• HAL hopes to build 200 HTT-40s, exporting a “weaponized” version to countries like Afghanistan, Myanmar, and some African customers.
• The cost of the HTT-40 project stands at around $54 million.