Asserting that India is rapidly moving towards self-reliance through indigenous defence manufacturing, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said on Friday that the country is witnessing a major milestone in its aerospace capabilities and technological self-confidence.
And third, today we are handing over the first aircraft of the HTT-40 Basic Trainer series production to the Indian Air Force. Commending HAL’s contribution, the Defence Minister said, “Hindustan Aeronautics Limited has indigenously constructed the HTT-40, and its first aircraft for series production has also been handed over to the IAF today… And in the case of the HTT-40, another good thing is that, on the strength of its features, this aircraft also holds possibilities for export.”
Because today the nature of warfare is rapidly changing. First, the indigenously designed and developed Dhruv-Next Generation Civil helicopter is being handed over after being granted Type Certification by the DGCA. Second, the final batch of the LCA Final Operational Clearance, that is, FOC Trainer, is being handed over to the Indian Air Force. On this occasion, I congratulate all of you. Recalling the past reliance on foreign nations, the Defence Minister noted, “If I talk about nearly a decade ago, projects in the defence sector were being carried out at a very slow pace. We used to be dependent on imports for most things, whether in the sense of technology or in the sense of products… After that, under the leadership of our Prime Minister, we began working with the core mantra of self-reliance. If Dhruv-NG is an example of our indigenous civil aerospace capability, then LCA FOC Trainer is a symbol of India’s indigenous military aerospace capability and the maturity of the fighter aircraft ecosystem. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh challenged the nation’s scientific and engineering community to pioneer cutting-edge technologies and position India as a global leader in aerospace. You have to develop such capabilities which will give India a leading position in the global aerospace technology landscape in the coming decade. Later, the Minister also stressed the importance of indigenous production in modern warfare, stating, “Developing such things indigenously is the need of the hour for India. In the future, air operations will be information-intensive and technology-driven. And most importantly, our dependence on foreign countries in this matter will now come to an end.
Speaking at the event, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said, “Today, we are witnessing three important achievements together. Praising indigenous military advancements, he said, “The second important milestone of today is the handing over of the last batch of LCA FOC Trainer to the Indian Air Force. He said, “Today I want to challenge our young scientists, engineers, designers, test pilots and technicians: ‘To create technologies that do not exist today.
