The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) on Wednesday chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the procurement of 70 HTT-40 Basic Trainer Aircraft at the cost of Rs 6,828.36 crores. The aircraft will be supplied over a period of six years.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh took to Twitter to inform. He tweeted, “The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) chaired by Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi has approved procurement of 70 HTT-40 Basic Trainer Aircraft at the cost of ₹6,828.36 crores. The aircraft will be supplied over a period of six years”, through his official Twitter handle.

“Being an indigenously designed and developed trainer aircraft, it will open new opportunities to hundreds of MSMEs and create thousands of jobs. It is a significant step towards strengthening India’s self-reliance in defence. I thank Pradhanmantriji for this decision”, he added in another tweet.

Statement by Defence Ministry

According to the statement, “The acquisition of the HTT-40 provides a fillip to the Indian Aerospace Defence ecosystem and boosts efforts towards ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’’.

“The HTT-40 is a turboprop aircraft and is designed to have good low-speed handling qualities and provide better training effectiveness. This fully aerobatic tandem seat turbo trainer has an air-conditioned cockpit, modern avionics, hot re-fueling, running changeover, and zero-zero ejection seats”, the statement read.

It further said, “The HTT-40 contains approx. 56% indigenous content which will progressively increase to over 60% through the indigenization of major components and subsystems”.

“The aircraft will meet the shortage of basic trainer aircraft of IAF for the training of newly inducted pilots. The procurement will include associated equipment and training aids including simulators. Being an indigenous solution, the Aircraft is configurable for upgrades to incorporate the futuristic requirements of the Indian Armed Forces”, the statement added.

The statement stated that the HAL would engage Indian private industry, including MSMEs, in its supply chain. The procurement has the potential to provide direct employment to approx. 1,500 personnel and indirect employment for up to 3,000 people spread over more than 100 MSMEs.

Also read: Axis Bank Completes Acquisition Of Citibank Businesses