NEW DELHI: India's aviation major Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) plans to develop a new jet trainer that will double up as a combat aircraft by the turn of the decade.

HAL chairman N.R. Mohanty Friday (Sept 10) said his organisation, which currently makes a wide array of combat aircraft, could deliver a prototype of the Hindustan Jet Trainer within 39 months of the government clearing the project.

The new trainer, which could be re-configured to serve as a combat aircraft during emergencies, could be used to supplement the 66 Hawk advanced jet trainers (AJTs) that Britain will supply to the Indian Air Force (IAF) under a 795 million-pound deal.

"It will be a totally indigenous aircraft with twin engines and a glass cockpit. Up to 70-80 percent of the aircraft will be made up of lightweight composite materials," Mohanty told reporters here.

"In emergencies, the trainer can be used as a combat aircraft."

HAL is currently working with the IAF to firm up the designs for the Hindustan Jet Trainer and the project will then be forwarded to the defence ministry for clearance.

"I can promise the prototype will be ready within 39 months of getting the clearance," Mohanty asserted.

Though several foreign aviation firms had expressed an interest in collaborating with HAL on the new jet, Mohanty said his organisation wanted to keep it a totally indigenous project to cut down reliance on components from other suppliers.

HAL's success with the Light Combat Aircraft, currently undergoing tests and expected to be inducted in the IAF by the end of the decade, would help in developing the new trainer, he said.

"We are not only looking at the IAF, but we are looking at the potential export market," Mohanty said.

HAL will build 42 of the 66 Hawk AJTs under licence from Britain's BAE Systems between 2008-10, and Mohanty he was hopeful of getting the airworthiness certification for the Hindustan Jet Trainer by 2010-11.

"There will thus be continuity between the production of the Hawks and the new trainer," he said.

The new trainer is likely to be powered by a new engine being developed for the Intermediate Jet Trainer designed by HAL, Mohanty said.

Indo-Asian News Service