New Delhi: HAL aircraft handover in Bengaluru will cover LCA Tejas FOC twin-seater trainers, HTT-40 aircraft and Dhruv NG helicopters.
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) will hand over the Tejas and HTT-40 aircraft to the Indian Air Force. It will also hand over Dhruv Next Generation helicopters to Pawan Hans Limited.
Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh and Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu will attend the event. The handover is scheduled for September 18, 2026, in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
The event will highlight HAL’s role in strengthening India’s domestic aerospace ecosystem. It will also showcase the expanding capabilities of HAL and its industry partners.
The platforms cover both military and civil applications. Their handover will demonstrate domestic capabilities in designing, developing and manufacturing advanced aerospace platforms.
The government has placed strong emphasis on indigenous aerospace and defence production. The HAL aircraft handover is part of that broader effort to strengthen domestic capabilities.
The induction of these platforms is also intended to reduce dependence on foreign sources. It reflects the government’s focus on indigenous design, development and manufacturing.
HAL aircraft handover highlights indigenous aerospace capability
Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal AP Singh will attend the event. Secretary (Defence Production) Sanjeev Kumar and Civil Aviation Secretary Samir Kumar Sinha will also be present.
HAL CMD Ravi K and other senior officials will participate in the programme. Representatives from the Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Civil Aviation, IAF and PHL are also expected.
Officials from regulatory agencies and stakeholders from the aerospace and defence sectors will attend as well. Their participation will highlight the wider industrial ecosystem supporting domestic aircraft production.
The LCA Tejas FOC twin-seater trainers will join the IAF platform portfolio through the handover. The HTT-40 basic trainer aircraft will also be handed over to the IAF.
The Dhruv NG helicopters, meanwhile, will go to Pawan Hans Limited. The platforms represent applications across military training and civil aviation requirements.
The government has continued to prioritise indigenous production across the aerospace and defence sectors. The handover will therefore highlight the role of domestic manufacturers and industry partners.
The programme will also bring together senior officials from defence, civil aviation and the aerospace industry. It will underline the expanding scope of India’s domestic aerospace manufacturing capabilities.
