India approves purchase of 70 HTT-40 basic trainer aircraft

NEW DELHI — India’s top decision-maker on defense matters has endorsed the purchase of 70 locally made HTT-40 basic trainer aircraft for $388.5 million.

Defence Minister Rajnath Sigh tweeted on Wednesday that the Cabinet Committee on Security, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the procurement plan.

The government will sign a contract for the HTT-40 aircraft later this month, the Ministry of Defence told Defense News.

The new aircraft will complement the existing basic training fleet of Swiss-made PC-12 Mark II basic trainers with the Indian Air Force. The service currently operates 260 trainer aircraft — a combination of basic and advanced trainers — against the requirement for 388.

The MoD said the aircraft will help with a shortage of basic trainer aircraft of the Air Force as it trains newly inducted pilots.

Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. will provide 70 HTT-40 aircraft, associated equipment and training aids, including simulators, over a period of six years, the ministry said. The company did not respond to a request for comment.

The HTT-40 program is supported by a supply chain of more than 100 domestic, private, small-scale enterprises that will provide 1,500 direct and 3,000 indirect employment opportunities through local suppliers, according to the ministry.

The aircraft currently includes up of 56% of Indian-made systems and components, and the ministry expects that to increase to 60%. The acquisition of the HTT-40 provides a fillip to the Indian aerospace defense ecosystem and boosts India’s efforts to become self-reliant, the ministry added.

India will use its HTT-40 aircraft for basic flight training, aerobatics, instrument flying and close formation flights, with secondary roles including navigation and night flying, HAL said.

This fully aerobatic tandem-seat turbo trainer has an air-conditioned cockpit, modern avionics and hot refueling capabilities. It also features zero-zero ejection seats, meaning they function as zero altitude and zero airspeed.

Costing about $7 million per unit, HAL also plans to offer the HTT-40 to foreign customers, a company executive told Defense News on the condition of anonymity, as the individual was not authorized to speak to the media.

The executive also said HAL spent $85 million on the design and development of the HTT-40, which included the creation of two porotypes and at least 550 test flights.

Vivek Raghuvanshi is the India correspondent for Defense News.

新德里——印度国防事务最高决策者已批准以 3.885 亿美元的价格购买 70 架国产 HTT-40 初级教练机。

国防部长拉杰纳特·辛格周三在推特上表示，由总理纳伦德拉·莫迪主持的内阁安全委员会已批准该采购计划。

国防部告诉《防务新闻》，政府将于本月晚些时候签署HTT-40飞机的合同。

这架新飞机将补充印度空军现有的瑞士制造的PC-12 Mark II基础教练机队。目前，印度空军拥有260架教练机（包括基础教练机和高级教练机），而实际需求为388架。

英国国防部表示，这架飞机将有助于缓解空军初级教练机短缺的问题，因为空军需要用它来训练新入伍的飞行员。

印度航空部表示，印度斯坦航空有限公司将在六年内提供70架HTT-40飞机、相关设备和训练辅助器材，包括模拟器。该公司未对此置评。

据该部称，HTT-40 项目由 100 多家国内私营小型企业组成的供应链提供支持，这些企业将通过当地供应商提供 1500 个直接就业机会和 3000 个间接就业机会。

该飞机目前已采用高达56%的印度制造系统和部件，国防部预计这一比例将提高到60%。国防部补充说，采购HTT-40将促进印度航空航天国防体系的发展，并推动印度实现自主研发的努力。

印度斯坦航空有限公司（HAL）表示，印度将使用其HTT-40飞机进行基础飞行训练、特技飞行、仪表飞行和近距离编队飞行，辅助用途包括导航和夜间飞行。

这款全特技串列双座涡轮教练机配备空调座舱、现代化航空电子设备和热加油能力。它还配备零零弹射座椅，这意味着它们在弹射时高度和空速均为零。

据《防务新闻》报道，HAL公司一位高管匿名透露，HTT-40导弹每台造价约为700万美元，该公司还计划向外国客户提供该型导弹。该高管表示，他没有被授权接受媒体采访。

该高管还表示，HAL 在 HTT-40 的设计和开发上花费了 8500 万美元，其中包括制造两个原型机和至少 550 次试飞。

Vivek Raghuvanshi 是《国防新闻》的印度通讯员。