New Delhi: India’s state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has signed a deal with Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation (PJSC-UAC) for the manufacture of SJ-100 civil commuter aircraft in India.
These aircraft will be used for short-haul connectivity under the UDAN scheme that offers affordable air travel to people. The scheme plans to connect places that were not in India’s air map till recently.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in Moscow on Monday between Prabhat Ranjan of HAL and Oleg Bogomolov from PJSC-UAC, Russia, in the presence of D K Sunil, CMD, HAL and Vadim Badeka, Director General, PJSC-UAC.
The SJ-100 is a twin-engine, narrow-body aircraft. More than 200 aircraft have been produced and are being operated by more than 16 commercial airline operators as on date.
“SJ-100 will be the game changer for short-haul connectivity under the UDAN Scheme in India. Under this arrangement, HAL will have the rights to manufacture SJ-100 aircraft for domestic customers. This collaboration between HAL and UAC is the result of mutual trust between the organisations. This will also be the first instance wherein a complete passenger aircraft will be produced in India. The last such project was HAL’s production of AVRO HS748, which started in 1961 and ended in 1988,” HAL said in a stock exchange filing.
This deal comes at a time when the US is keeping close watch on Indo-Russian ties. US president Donald Trump has also imposed a penalty of 25% on Indian exports to that country for India’s purchase of crude from Russia. Trump has also complained that India does not buy sufficient goods from the US.
The US president has also pointed to how India always insists on getting a domestic firm to be part of the production process rather than going in for outright purchase.
It is India’s laid down policy, however, to get Indian companies – both public and private – to participate in the manufacturing process, so they may earn part of the profits from any deal with a foreign nation.
It is estimated that over the next ten years, the Indian aviation sector will require over 200 jets in this category for regional connectivity and an additional 350 aircraft for the Indian Ocean region to serve nearby international tourist destinations, HAL added in its filing.
