A Brief History of Indian Aerospace Manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics Limited

The state-owned Hindustan Aircraft Limited, headquartered in Bangalore, India, was founded on December 23, 1940 by Indian businessman Walchand Hirachand and American businessman William D. Pawley.

The British and Indian governments, believing the new business to be of strategic importance, purchased a third of the company’s shares in April 1941.

On April 2, 1942, the British Indian government announced that it would repay the investors and nationalize the company. In 1943 the factory was handed over to the United States Army Air Corps, which quickly transformed it into a major repair and overhaul facility for American aircraft. The first aircraft to be overhauled, now called “Air Station 84”, was the Catalina flying boat. This was followed by all types of aircraft that the Americans operated in India and Burma.

A factory that manufactures rolling stock for Indian Railways

When the factory was handed back to the British and Indian government at the end of the war, it became the most important aircraft repair facility in Asia. The factory started building rolling stock for Indian Railways during the transition to civilian use.

After India gained independence from Britain in 1947, control of the factory was transferred to the new Indian government. On 1 October 1964, the company changed its name to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and joined a consortium headed by IAF Aircraft Manufacturing to manufacture the Soviet MiG-21 under license.

In the 1980s, HAL developed an improved version of the MiG-21, extending the life of the aircraft by 20 years. At the same time, HAL won multi-billion dollar contracts to manufacture aircraft parts for Boeing, Airbus and Honeywell. In the years that followed, HAL continued to grow and today has 11 R&D centres, 21 manufacturing divisions and 4 production units spread across India. The company is one of Asia’s largest aerospace companies with annual sales exceeding his $3 billion. His 40% of its revenue comes from international agreements with aircraft manufacturers.

HAL International Agreement

A partial list of international agreements includes:

• A $1 billion contract with Boeing to manufacture aircraft parts.
• A $259 million contract to build 120 RD-33MK turbofan engines for the MiG-29K.
• A $200 million contract with Honeywell for 1,000 TPE331 aircraft engines.
• A $120 million contract with RUAG of Switzerland to build the Dornier 228.
• A $150 million contract with Airbus for aircraft spare parts.
• $100 million contract for composites with Israel Aerospace Industries.
• A $50.7 million contract with the Ecuadorian Air Force provides advanced light helicopters and an Ecuadorian base for their repair and maintenance.
• $30 million contract to supply avionics for Malaysia’s Su-30MKM.
• A $20 million contract with Peru to supply an ambulance version of the HAL Dhruv helicopter.
• $20 million contract with Turkey for three HAL Dhruv helicopters.
• A $15 million contract with GE Aviation for forged steel and nickel parts for aircraft engines.

Domestic agreement

National agreements include:

• Built 221 Sukhoi Su-30MKI in cooperation with Russia’s Sukhoi Aerospace.
• Manufactured 200 HAL light combat helicopters and 500 HAL Dhruv helicopters for the Indian Air Force.
• An improved version of the British and French Jaguar attack aircraft operated by the Indian Air Force.
• 64 MiG-29 upgrades.
• Licensed production of 82 BAE Systems Hawk trainers.