New Delhi: State-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has unveiled the design of a new supersonic jet trainer that could play a key role in modern fighter aircraft training of the Indian Air Force (IAF).
A statement released by HAL ahead of the Aero India 2023 show in Bengaluru next week said that there will be a scale model of the HLFT-42, which will be the ‘Next Gen Supersonic Trainer’.
HAL plans to equip the new trainer aircraft with modern avionics like Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA), Electronic Warfare (EW) suite, Infrared Search and Track (IRST) along with Fly By Wire (FBW) control system.
Sources in the defense and security establishment said it is a single engine trainer which has been in the works for a long time and has undergone several design changes.
He also said that the design of HLFT-42 is inspired by the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft programme. Sources said that HAL is funding the project on its own.
He said that this aircraft can bridge the gap between subsonic jet training on Hawk-132 and supersonic jet training on real fighter aircraft like MiG-21.
The sources also pointed out how training missions by new pilots, who get used to supersonic flights, make aircraft like MiGs and Sukhoi undergo more wear and tear. But he also said that the Indian Air Force would be interested in the project only if it sees HAL supplying its new aircraft.
However, HAL sources say the project is largely feasible and will prove to be the shortest development programme. He said that the new supersonic trainer also has immense export potential.
New aircraft to replace Swiss-made Pilatus
In 2017, HAL and BAE Systems, which developed the Hawks, came up with a product named Advanced Hawk.
BAE Systems then stated that the new features on the Hawks would reduce training demands on more expensive frontline aircraft, create additional capacity for operational tasks and make training more cost-effective as well as structured.
However, the IAF did not pursue this aircraft as it was found that the advanced Hawk was not a supersonic jet.
IAF did in October last year agreement 6,800 crore deal with HAL to procure 70 Hindustan Turbo Trainer (HTT)-40 trainer aircraft, a move that will ease pressure on the force dealing with a limited number of aircraft.
The HTT-40 was a project that was funded internally by HAL after the IAF initially declined to participate.
The new aircraft will be part of the first phase of IAF pilots’ training – basic training – and will eventually replace the Swiss-made Pilatus aircraft procured in 2012.
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