Cabinet okays buying 70 HTT-40 trainer aircraft from HAL for Rs 6,800 crore

HAL says it will engage Indian private industry, including micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), in its supply chain

The Union Cabinet has approved the purchase of 70 Hindustan Turbo Trainer-40 (HTT-40) basic trainer aircraft (BTA) from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Air Force (IAF) at a cost of Rs 6,828 crore. 
 
“HAL will deliver the 70 aircraft over a period of six years,” the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said in a press release on Wednesday.
 
The HTT-40 is a turboprop aircraft, designed to have good low-speed handling for better training effectiveness. This fully aerobatic, tandem-seat, turbo trainer has an air-conditioned cockpit, modern avionics, hot refuelling, running changeover, and zero-zero ejection seats.
 
“The aircraft will