E-Paper
HAL, Russian aviation major ink pact for building civilian commuter jets
The move aims to meet the Indian aviation sector’s requirement for more than 200 regional jets over the next decade
New Delhi: State-run aerospace major Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) announced on Tuesday it had signed an agreement with Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) to build the SJ-100 civilian commuter aircraft to meet the Indian aviation sector’s requirement for more than 200 regional jets over the next decade.
The partnership came a little more than a month before an expected visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin in early December for an annual summit. It also came against the backdrop of growing US and Western pressure on India to decrease purchases of Russian energy and defence hardware as part of efforts to end the war in Ukraine.
The agreement, which defence minister Rajnath Singh hailed as a “landmark step” for India’s civil aviation sector, was signed by officials of the two firms in Moscow on Monday in the presence of HAL’s chairman and managing director DK Sunil and UAC’s director general Vadim Badekha.
Under the memorandum of understanding, HAL will have the rights to manufacture SJ-100 aircraft for domestic customers. A twin-engine, narrow body aircraft capable of carrying up to 100 passengers, the SJ-100 was earlier known as the Sukhoi Superjet 100 and made its maiden flight in 2008.
HAL has a long-standing partnership with UAC, including the manufacturing under licence of the Su-30MKI combat jet for the Indian Air Force. People familiar with the matter said the Russian side first offered the SJ-100 to India almost a decade ago to meet the growing need for regional jets.
UAC, in which the Russian government has a majority stake, currently faces US, European Union and British sanctions, and has been described by the US treasury department as a key enterprise in Russia’s military-industrial complex. It was created by Putin in 2006 by merging several other aviation companies such as Ilyushin, Sukhoi and Tupolev as a public joint stock company.
India, which does not recognise unilateral sanctions, has said it is being unfairly targeted by the West for its relations with Russia.
Singh said the SJ-100 will be the first complete passenger aircraft to be made in India since the era of the Avro aircraft, referring to the British-origin Avro HS 748 that was built by HAL between 1961 and 1988 for civilian and military operators. “The SJ-100 will be a game changer for short-haul connectivity under the UDAN Scheme and marks a major stride towards achieving ‘Aatmanirbharta’ in civil aviation,” he said on social media.
“The manufacturing will also strengthen the private sector and create direct and indirect jobs in the aviation industry,” Singh said.
More than 200 of the SJ-100 aircraft have been produced so far and are being operated by more than 16 commercial airlines. HAL said its collaboration with UAC is the “result of mutual trust between the organisations”.
The aviation major said India’s aviation sector will need more than 200 jets for regional connectivity over the next 10 years, and an additional 350 aircraft for the Indian Ocean region to serve international tourist destinations. The manufacturing of the SJ-100 marks both the beginning of a new chapter for India’s aviation industry and a step towards achieving self-reliance in civil aviation, HAL said.
