Aatmanirbhar Bharat: HAL to hand over LCA Tejas FOC Twin Seater Trainers & HTT 40 Basic Trainer Aircraft to IAF and Dhruv NG helicopters to PHL in the presence of Raksha Mantri[...]

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) will hand over Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas Final Operational Clearance (FOC) Twin Seater Trainers & HTT 40 Basic Trainer Aircraft to the Indian Air Force (IAF) and Dhruv Next Generation (NG) helicopters to Pawan Hans Limited (PHL) in the presence of Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh and Minister of Civil Aviation Shri K Rammohan Naidu in Bengaluru, Karnataka on September 18, 2026. The handover marks an important milestone in the country's self-reliance journey as the event would highlight the role being played by HAL and its industry partners in strengthening the domestic aerospace ecosystem. It would also demonstrate the industry's expanding capability to design, develop, and manufacture advanced platforms for both civil & military applications.
Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal AP Singh; Secretary (Defence Production) Shri Sanjeev Kumar; Secretary, Ministry of Civil Aviation Shri Samir Kumar Sinha; CMD, HAL Shri Ravi K, and other senior officials of Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Civil Aviation, IAF, PHL, regulatory agencies and stakeholders from the aerospace & defence sectors will be present on the occasion.
The Government has accorded high priority to promoting indigenous design, development and manufacturing in the aerospace & defence sectors. The induction of these platforms is another step towards strengthening the indigenous capabilities and reducing dependence on foreign sources.
SR/Savvy