On February 2, 2016, the Indian aerospace major the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) rolled out the first prototype of the Hindustan Turbo Trainer 40 (HTT-40) at its factory at Bengaluru. This is an all-metal, tandem-seat aircraft powered by the Honeywell TPE-331-12B turboprop engine with a thrust rating of 950 hp. This aircraft was developed by HAL to replace the HPT-32 Deepak which was also designed, developed and built by HAL. Unfortunately, the fleet of HPT-32 that was inducted into the Indian Air Force (IAF) in the early 1990s was plagued by serious and apparently insurmountable technical problems that led to a series of accidents, several of these being fatal. Left with no choice, in July 2009, the IAF opted to ground the fleet permanently. From the point of view of the airframe life, grounding of the HPT-32 fleet was somewhat premature as in the normal course, the fleet could have been in service till 2025 and possibly even beyond with life extension. The decision to ground the HPT-32 fleet prematurely caught HAL off-guard as the Indian aerospace major was not ready with a solution for replacement of the HPT-32 fleet with an indigenous platform.

In fact, HAL had initiated a case for the development of a replacement for the piston engine HPT-32 aircraft by a more powerful single engine, low-wing and tandem-seat aircraft powered by a turboprop engine. The initial design prepared by HAL appeared similar to the highly popular Tucano designed, developed and built by Embraer of Brazil. Entering service in the mid-1980s, the Embraer Tucano was inducted by air forces of as many as 13 countries around the world. Although the production lines are closed, the aircraft continues to be employed as a basic trainer in some air forces.

In July 2009, the IAF was confronted with an emergencylike situation with regard to basic training of pilots. With no clear possibility of HAL coming up with a suitable aircraft for basic training in the time frame required, the IAF obtained sanction of the government to procure a trainer platform from foreign sources. Through a process of global tendering, the IAF identified the PC-7 Mk II from Pilatus of Switzerland as the preferred platform and placed an initial order for 75 aircraft with option for another 38 at the same price. This was a proven platform already in service with several air forces worldwide. The first Pilatus PC-7 Mk II was delivered in February 2013 and by now, delivery of the initial order for 75 aircraft has been completed. As the total requirement for trainer aircraft for the IAF is around 200, there was and is considerable scope for HAL to have a suitable product ready.

Not quite happy with the way the HTT-40 project was progressing, the IAF was hesitant to place any degree of reliance on this aircraft as its basic trainer. Apart from the tardy progress of the project, the IAF was of the view that the projected unit cost of the HTT-40 was much higher than that of the Pilatus PC-7. In fact in September 2012, the IAF indicated that it had formally rejected the HTT-40 for this very reason. However, in February 2015, under pressure from the government, the IAF relented and agreed to accept 70 HTT-40 aircraft if and when delivered by HAL.

In the past, HAL has delivered indigenously designed, developed and built trainer aircraft such as the HT-2 and the HJT-16 Kiran which have been eminently successful and have rendered yeoman service in training pilots for the IAF for over four decades. Unfortunately, over the years thereafter, HAL has failed to make good use of the experience gained and then progress to build up a robust indigenous capability to manufacture even basic trainer aircraft. Instead, HAL has focused largely on ‘production under licence’ and the slogan of indigenisation appears to have remained as mere ‘window-dressing’. The net result is that today, HAL is saddled with projects related to both combat and trainer aircraft that are either on the verge of failure or have had inordinately long development time frame with the products falling short both in quality and delivery schedule. The light combat aircraft Tejas and the intermediate jet trainer HJT-36 Sitara are eloquent examples of the deep-seated malaise that afflicts the organisation. The state of affairs with regard to indigenous capability is evident in the fact that it has taken HAL over a decade to roll out the first prototype of the HTT-40 which is a simple platform devoid of advanced or complex technologies and its power plant procured from abroad.

Unless HAL develops the capability to indigenously design, develop and produce aircraft across the required spectrum required for military use, it will be unreasonable to expect the IAF to display the desired level of confidence in the Indian aerospace major.