HAL removes Hanuman image from aircraft tail at Aero India in Bengaluru

The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited on Tuesday removed the picture of Lord Hanuman from 'Hindustan Lead in Fighter Trainer (HLFT)-42, which was on display at the Aero India 2023 here.

The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited on Tuesday removed the picture of Lord Hanuman from 'Hindustan Lead in Fighter Trainer (HLFT)-42, which was on display at the Aero India 2023 here.

The HAL displayed for the first time the scale model HLFT-42, at the Aero India. (@HateDetectors/Twitter)

The image with a slogan "The storm is coming" could be seen on the first day of Asia's largest air show, which took off on Monday, on the vertical fin of the HLFT-42 at a static display.

"There used to be an HAL aircraft called HF-24 Marut (meaning wind). It was derived from it. There is nothing specific to derive from it (image of Lord Hanuman)," an official of the Bengaluru-headquartered HAL said.

He added that the objective was to show the power of the aircraft. The HAL displayed for the first time the scale model HLFT-42, at the Aero India.

HLFT-42 is the 'Next Gen Supersonic Trainer' that will play a "critical role" in modern combat aircraft training with state-of-the-art avionics like Active Electronically Scanned Array, Electronic Warfare Suite, Infrared Search and Track with Fly by Wire control system, HAL said last week.