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Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
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Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), based in Bangalore, India, is one of Asia's largest aerospace companies. Under the management of the Ministry of Defence, the company is mainly involved in aerospace industry, which includes manufacturing and assembling aircraft, navigation and related communication equipment, as well as operating airports.
HAL built the first military aircraft in South Asia and is currently involved in the design, fabrication and assembly of aircraft, jet engines, helicopters and their components and spares. It has several facilities throughout India including Nasik, Korwa, Kanpur, Koraput, Lucknow, and Hyderabad. The German engineer Kurt Tank designed the HF-24 Marut fighter-bomber, the first fighter aircraft made in India.
Hindustan Aeronautics has a long history of collaboration with several other international and domestic aerospace agencies such as the Airbus Industries, Boeing, Sukhoi Aviation Corporation, Israel Aircraft Industries, Mikoyan-Gurevich (now Mikoyan), BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce plc, Dassault Aviation, Dornier Flugzeugwerke, Aeronautical Development Agency and Indian Space Research Organisation.
History
HAL was established as Hindustan Aircraft in Bangalore in 1940 by Walchand Hirachand to produce military aircraft for the Royal Indian Air Force. The initiative was actively encouraged by the Kingdom of Mysore, especially by the Diwan, Sir Mirza Ismail. The British Government bought a one-third stake in the company by April 1941 as it believed this to be a strategic imperative. Later in April 1942, it bought out the stakes of Walchand Hirachand himself and other promoters so that it can act freely. The decision by United Kingdom was primairly motivated to boost British military hardware supplies in Asia to counter the increasing threat posed by Imperial Japan during Second World War. However, the Mysore Kingdom refused to sell its stake in the company but yielded the management control over to the British Government. Thus, within 2 years of establishment, it was nationalized.
In 1943 the Bangalore factory was handed over to the United States Army Air Force but still using HAL management. The factory expanded rapidly and became the centre for major overhaul and repair of American aircraft and was known as the 84th Air Depot. The first aircraft to be overhauled was a PBY Catalina followed by every type of aircraft operated in Indian and Burma. When returned to Indian control two-years later the factory had become one of the largest overhaul and repair organisations in the East.
After India gained independence in 1947, the management of the company was passed over to the Government of India and was renamed as Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). Though HAL was not used actively for developing newer models of fighter jets, the company has played a crucial role in modernization of the Indian Air Force. During the 1980s, HAL's operations saw a rapid increase which resulted in the development of new indigenous aircraft such as HAL Tejas and HAL Dhruv. HAL also developed an advanced version of the MiG-21, known as MiG-21 Bison, which increased its life-span by more than 20 years. HAL has also obtained several multi-million dollar contracts from leading international aerospace firms such as Airbus and Boeing to manufacture aircraft spare parts.
Operations
HAL is one of the largest aerospace companies in Asia with its annual turnover to be running above US$2 billion. More than 40% of HAL's revenues come from international deals to manufacture aircraft engines, spare parts, and other aircraft materials. Below is a partial list of major operations being undertaken by HAL:
International deals
Domestic deals
- 180 Sukhoi Su-30MKI being manufactured at HAL's facilities in Nasik and Bangalore. The total contract, which also involves Russia's Sukhoi Aerospace, is worth US$3.2 billion.
- 200 HAL Light Combat Helicopters for Indian Air Force and 500 HAL Dhruv helicopters worth US$5.83 billion.[12]
- US$57 million upgrade of SEPECAT Jaguar fleet of the Indian Air Force.[13]
- US$55 million fighter training school in Bangalore in collaboration with Canada's CAE.[14]
- 64 MiG-29s to be upgraded by HAL and Russia's MiG Corporation in a program worth US$960 million.[15]
- Licensed production of 82 BAe Hawk 132.[12]
In-house developed products
Glider
- HAL G-1 - first original design produced by the company in 1941, only one built.
- Ardhra training glider
Light trainer aircraft
The HF-24 Marut, India's first jet fighter aircraft
Fighter aircraft
The Tejas 4th generation fighter aircraft
Transport aircraft
Helicopters
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Licensed production
Gallery
HAL license manufactured MiG-27
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HAL license manufactured Jaguar IS
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HAL overhauled Mirage 2000
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See also
References
- ^ Boeing to export up to $1 billion in work to India | TheNewsTribune.com | Tacoma, WA
- ^ domain-b.com : Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd and Ilyushin start work on multi-role transport aircraft
- ^ Aviation Week : India Signs Contract For $964M MiG-29 Upgrade
- ^ HAL to make 1,000 Honeywell engines - The Financial Express
- ^ HAL to make new generation Dornier aircraft
- ^ The Hindu : National : HAL bags $150-million Airbus order
- ^ Israel News : Israel outsources $100-mn composites for UAVs to India
- ^ Hindustan Aeronautics gets $50.7 mln helicopter contract from Ecuador air force - Forbes.com
- ^ TajaNews
- ^ domain-b.com : HAL secures order for ambulance version of ALH Dhruv from Peru
- ^ 'India, Israel developing unmanned helicopter' -Gulf-World-The Times of India
- ^ a b [1]
- ^ HAL to upgrade Indian Jaguar fleet
- ^ Hindustan Aeronautics to set up pilot training school-India Business-Business-The Times of India
- ^ AFP: India awards Russia billion dollar MiG-29 upgrade
External links
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