On 11 August 2020, the Indian Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) approved procuring 106 HTT-40s for the Indian Air Force. The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) HTT-40 is an Indian training aircraft, is design and developed by Aircraft Research and Design Centre (ARDC) and built by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). It will replace the Indian Air Force’s retired HPT-32 Deepak as a basic trainer. HAL was looking for LSP (limited series production) to start by 2020.
The HTT-40 is a fixed-wing aircraft incorporating an all-metal airframe design. It features a bubble canopy, T-tail configuration and a retractable tricycle landing gear system with a steerable nose wheel.It has a maximum take-off weight of 2,800kg and can be configured to carry a gun, rockets and bombs to perform light combat and counter-insurgency missions. Honeywell was selected by HAL to supply the TPE331-12B turboprop engines for the high-performance HTT-40 military trainer aircraft.
The HTT-40 trainer offers the best-in-class fuel economy and power rating. It takes-off from a short distance and has a high rate of climb. It has a maximum speed of 450km/h and can reach a maximum distance of 1,000km. It can fly at a maximum speed of 450 km/h and can reach a maximum distance of 1,000 km. The stall speed with flaps down is 135km/h. The certified operational ceiling of the trainer is 6,000m, the ‘G’ limits are +6/-3 and airborne endurance is three hours.
HAL rolled out the first prototype on 2 February 2016.[12] The HTT-40 had its first flight on 31 May 2016. The flight lasted for about 30 minutes. The pilot carried out circuits and the aircraft performance was satisfactory. The HTT-40 made its first public introduction flight on 17 June 2016, with Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar in attendance at the HAL airport in Bangalore. On 19 May 2017, the second prototype completed its maiden flight. On 10 November 2018, HTT-40 started its spin test by successfully entering into two-turn spin and subsequently recovering with the appropriate controls.
