Flight of self-reliance: Third Production Line of LCA Mk1A & 2nd Production Line of HTT-40 inaugurated at HAL Nashik

While inaugurating the LCA Mk1A & HTT-40 production line at HAL Nashik, the Defence Minister of India says that these are proof of Govt-Industry-Academia synergy and no challenge is too big if faced together. He also mentions that, “HAL provided 24*7 support at various operational sites during Operation Sindoor, ensured IAF’s operational readiness”.

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The Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated the third Production Line of Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas Mk1A and the second Production Line of Hindustan Turbo Trainer-40 (HTT-40) at the Nashik facility of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) on October 17, 2025. He also flagged-off the first LCA Mk1A produced at the facility.

He described the flight of the state-of-the-art aircraft as a shining symbol of India’s growing Aatmanirbharta in defence. Highlighting the transformation of the defence sector in the last decade under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, he asserted that the country, which once imported 65-70% of critical military hardware, is now manufacturing 65% of the equipment on its own soil. He voiced the Government’s resolve of increasing domestic manufacturing to 100% in the times to come.

“When we came to power in 2014, we realised that without self-reliance, we can never be truly secure. In the beginning, we faced numerous challenges, the biggest being ‘limited defence preparedness’ and ‘import dependency’. Everything was limited to Government enterprises, and the private sector had no significant participation in the production ecosystem.

In addition, there was not enough focus on defence planning, advanced technology, and innovation. This forced us to depend on other countries for critical equipment and cutting-edge systems, which increased costs & created strategic vulnerabilities. This challenge encouraged us to move forward in the direction of new thinking and reforms. The results are visible today. We not only reduced import dependency, but also strengthened our commitment to indigenisation. Whatever we used to buy from abroad, we are now manufacturing it domestically, be it fighter aircraft, missiles, engines and electronic warfare systems,” said Shri Rajnath Singh.