Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) designs, licence-manufactures and supports the majority of fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters flown by India's armed forces. Its product line ranges from the indigenous Tejas light combat aircraft and Prachand attack helicopter to the licence-built Su-30MKI air-superiority fighter, making HAL the backbone of India's combat-aviation manufacturing base.

Key facts

  • Tejas is a single-engine, 4.5-generation delta-wing multirole fighter powered by the GE F404-IN20 engine, developed jointly by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) and HAL
  • The Indian Air Force has contracted a total of 180 Tejas Mk1A jets: 83 under a ₹48,000-crore deal signed in 2021 and 97 more under a ₹62,370-crore contract signed in September 2025
  • The Su-30MKI, a twin-engine air-superiority fighter, has been licence-built at HAL's Nashik division since 2004, with 222 aircraft delivered to the IAF and production of 12 further jets recently restarted
  • The ALH Dhruv, HAL's indigenous multi-role helicopter, has crossed 440 cumulative deliveries to the Army, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard, plus export customers including Nepal, Mauritius, Maldives and Ecuador
  • The LCH Prachand, an indigenous attack helicopter powered by twin HAL-Safran Shakti engines, was inducted into the IAF on 3 October 2022; contracts worth ₹62,700 crore for 156 more helicopters were signed in March 2025
  • The HTT-40 turboprop basic trainer and the Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) round out HAL's newer indigenous programmes

Fighter and combat aircraft

The Tejas is HAL's flagship fixed-wing programme, conceived to replace the IAF's ageing MiG-21 fleet. The baseline Tejas Mk1 achieved initial and final operational clearance in 2011 and 2013 respectively, while the upgraded Mk1A adds an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, an improved electronic-warfare suite and beyond-visual-range missile capability. Deliveries of the Mk1A have been paced by the availability of imported GE F404-IN20 engines, with HAL targeting a ramp-up in squadron induction through 2026. A larger, more powerful Tejas Mk2 is under development. Separately, HAL continues to licence-manufacture the Su-30MKI, a twin-engine, thrust-vectoring air-superiority fighter developed jointly with Russia's Sukhoi design bureau, at its Nashik facility, which remains one of the IAF's largest single fighter fleets.

Helicopters

HAL's helicopter line is built around the Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Dhruv, a twin-engine multi-role helicopter used in utility, armed (Rudra) and naval variants across all three armed services and the Coast Guard. Its combat derivative, the Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) Prachand, is a dedicated attack helicopter designed for high-altitude operations, including along the Siachen Glacier and Himalayan border areas, carrying air-to-air missiles, rockets and a turret gun. The Light Utility Helicopter (LUH), a single-engine, three-tonne class helicopter, is being developed to replace the ageing Cheetah and Chetak fleets used by the Army and Air Force for reconnaissance and liaison duties.

Trainers and future programmes

The HTT-40 is a turboprop basic trainer intended to strengthen the IAF's pilot-training pipeline alongside the imported Pilatus PC-7 Mk II. Looking ahead, HAL is contributing structural design work to the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), India's planned fifth-generation stealth fighter, whose overall configuration remains under the Aeronautical Development Agency while prototype manufacture has been opened to competitive bidding involving private industry.

Together, these programmes illustrate HAL's dual role: sustaining large licence-production lines for imported designs such as the Su-30MKI while steadily expanding indigenous content through the Tejas, Dhruv, Prachand and the forthcoming AMCA. This mix of licence manufacture and home-grown design also shapes HAL's export ambitions, with the Tejas pitched to several overseas air forces and the Dhruv and its armed variants already flying with a handful of foreign operators.