Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Delivers Final Tejas Mk-1 FOC Trainers and First HTT-40 Batch to Indian Air Force, Plus Dhruv NG Helicopters to Pawan Hans

Key facts

• Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) handed over the final two LCA Tejas Mk-1 Final Operational Clearance (FOC) twin-seater trainers and the first batch of three HTT-40 basic trainer aircraft to the Indian Air Force (IAF) at its Bengaluru facility on September 18, 2026, in a ceremony attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Civil Aviation Minister K. Rammohan Naidu.
• Completing the baseline LCA Tejas Mk-1 FOC contract removes a manufacturing bottleneck, allowing HAL to reallocate its assembly line and workforce to the ₹1.15 lakh-crore Tejas Mk-1A programme covering 180 aircraft ordered across 2021 and 2025.
• The three series-production HTT-40 trainers (two built in Bengaluru and one in Nashik) are part of a ₹6,838-crore contract for 70 trainers signed in March 2023; the first aircraft was named 'Ankur', and HAL expects to deliver the remaining 67 aircraft over the next four to five years.
• HTT-40 deliveries faced earlier timeline adjustments due to global supply chain issues affecting the American-sourced Honeywell TPE331-12B turboprop engines, which have since been resolved.
• HAL delivered four civil-certified Dhruv Next Generation (NG) helicopters, a 5.5-tonne twin-engine multi-role helicopter with Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) type certification, to Pawan Hans Limited for VVIP transport, air ambulance operations, offshore support and pilgrimage transit.
• Over 60% of the components on both the Tejas and the HTT-40 are sourced locally.
• The HTT-40 induction eliminates India's reliance on foreign basic trainers such as the Swiss-made Pilatus PC-7 MkII, enabling fully indigenous pilot training from basic to advanced fighter stages.