TRAINERS FOR NEXT TOP GUNS

IN A MOVE TOWARDS INDIGENISATION, THE CENTRE HAS DECIDED TO PROCURE THE HTT-40 MADE BY HAL TO ANSWER THE IAF'S URGENT NEED FOR A BASIC TRAINER

- Pradip R. Sagar

Before they get the coveted stripes on their uniforms, proclaiming them as elite fighter pilots, flight cadets of the Indian Air Force undergo months of gruelling training that involves flight and safety manoeuvres, aircraft mechanics and instrument flying—controlling an aircraft using basic instruments. The platforms of such training are the various trainer aircraft, mostly foreign-made, of the IAF. Now, in a significant indigenisation move, the Cabinet Committee on Security led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave its go-ahead to the acquisition of 70 units of the Hindustan Turbo Trainer, commonly known as the HTT-40 basic trainer, for Rs 6,800 crore. The trainer’s makers, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), inked the deal with IAF on March 7. The new aircraft, to be delivered over the next six years, will complement the IAF’s existing basic training fleet of Swiss-made PC-7 Mark IIs. The IAF currently operates 260 trainer aircraft—a combination of basic, intermediate and advanced—against its requirement for 388.

Unveiled by PM Modi at the DefExpo 2022 in Gandhinagar, the HTT40 will be used for basic flight training, aerobatics, instrument flying, close formation flights and night flying. HAL plans to deliver the first two planes in 20 months and then 20 annually.

Training for rookie pilots of the IAF and Navy happen in three stages. They cut their teeth on the basic/ primary trainers. After 80 hours of flying and getting their fundamentals right, they progress to training on Kiran Mark II intermediate trainer jets. The final stage of training happens aboard the British-made Hawk Advanced Jet trainer. After this, they are deemed sufficiently capable to handle frontline fighter jets of the IAF like Sukhois and Rafales.