Hindustan Aeronautics Limited

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
Type State-owned enterprise
Industry Aerospace and defense
Founded 1940 (in 1964, company took on current name)
Headquarters Bangalore, Karnataka,
India
Key people P V Deshmukh(Officiating Chairman), S K Jha M.D.(Accessories), P.Soundara Rajan M.D.(Helicopter division),V.M.Chamola Director(H.R.),K. Naresh Babu M.D.(Bangalore complex), Dr. A.K. Mishra Director(Finance)(
Products Aerospace equipment
Military aircraft
Communication & Navigation equipment
Space systems
Revenue 13,061 crore (US$2.48 billion) (2010-11)[1]
Net income 2,718 crore (US$516.42 million) (2009-10)[1]
Employees 33,990 (2010)
Website www.hal-india.com

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (Hindi: हिन्दुस्तान एरनॅटिक्स लिमिटेड) (HAL) (Hindi: हि ए लि,) based in Bangalore, India, is one of Asia's largest aerospace companies. Under the management of the Indian Ministry of Defence, this state-owned company is mainly involved in aerospace industry, which includes manufacturing and assembling aircraft, navigation and related communication equipment, as well as operating airports.

HAL built the first military aircraft in South Asia and is currently involved in the design, fabrication and assembly of aircraft, jet engines, and helicopters, as well as their components and spares. It has several facilities throughout India including Nasik, Korwa, Kanpur, Koraput, Lucknow, Bangalore and Hyderabad. The German engineer Kurt Tank designed the HF-24 Marut fighter-bomber, the first fighter aircraft made in India.

Hindustan Aeronautics has a long history of collaboration with several other international and domestic aerospace agencies such as Airbus, Boeing, Sukhoi Aviation Corporation, Israel Aircraft Industries, RSK MiG, BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce plc, Dassault Aviation, Dornier Flugzeugwerke, the Indian Aeronautical Development Agency and the Indian Space Research Organisation.

Contents

History

HAL was established as Hindustan Aircraft in Bangalore in 1940 by Walchand Hirachand to produce military aircraft for the Royal Indian Air Force. The initiative was actively encouraged by the Kingdom of Mysore, especially by the Diwan, Sir Mirza Ismail and it also had financial help from the Indian Government. Mysore was favoured because of the availability of cheap electricity.[2] The organisation and equipment for the factory at Banglore was set up by William D. Pawley of the Intercontinental Aircraft Corporation of New York, an exporter of American aircraft to the region. Pawley managed to obtain a large number of machine-tools and equipment from the United States.

The Indian Government bought a one-third stake in the company and by April 1941 as it believed this to be a strategic imperative. The decision by the government was primarily motivated to boost British military hardware supplies in Asia to counter the increasing threat posed by Imperial Japan during Second World War. The Kingdom of Mysore supplied two directors, Air Marshal John Higgins was resident director. The first aircraft built was a Harlow PC-5[3] On 2 April 1942 the government announced that the company had been nationalised when it had bought out the stakes of Walchand Hirachand and other promoters so that it could act freely. The Mysore Kingdom refused to sell its stake in the company but yielded the management control over to the Indian Government.

In 1943 the Bangalore factory was handed over to the United States Army Air Force but still using Hindustan Aircraft management. The factory expanded rapidly and became the centre for major overhaul and repair of American aircraft and was known as the 84th Air Depot. The first aircraft to be overhauled was a Consolidated PBY Catalina followed by every type of aircraft operated in Indian and Burma. When returned to Indian control two-years later the factory had become one of the largest overhaul and repair organisations in the East. In the post war reorginazation the company built railway carriages as an interim activity.

After India gained independence in 1947, the management of the company was passed over to the Government of India and was renamed as Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) on 1 October 1964 when Hindustan Aircraft Limited was merged with the Aircraft manufacturing Depot, Kanpur. Though HAL was not used actively for developing newer models of fighter jets, the company has played a crucial role in modernization of the Indian Air Force. In 1957 company started manufacturing jet engines (Bristol Siddeley Orpheus) under license at new factory located in Bangalore.

During the 1980s, HAL's operations saw a rapid increase which resulted in the development of new indigenous aircraft such as HAL Tejas and HAL Dhruv. HAL also developed an advanced version of the MiG-21, known as MiG-21 Bison, which increased its life-span by more than 20 years. HAL has also obtained several multi-million dollar contracts from leading international aerospace firms such as Airbus, Boeing and Honeywell to manufacture aircraft spare parts and engines.

Operations

HAL is one of the largest aerospace companies in Asia with its annual turnover to be running above US$2 billion. More than 40% of HAL's revenues come from international deals to manufacture aircraft engines, spare parts, and other aircraft materials. Below is a partial list of major operations being undertaken by HAL:

International deals

Domestic deals

In-house developed products

Fighter aircraft

Helicopters

Engines

Light trainer aircraft

Transport aircraft

Passenger Aircraft

Glider

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Licenced production

Gallery

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Annual Report 2009, Financial Highlights". Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. 2009-09-01. http://www.hal-india.com/financials.asp. Retrieved 2009-10-07. 
  2. ^ Aircraft Factory for India Flight 10 OCtober 1940 p305
  3. ^ "Hindustan Aircraft Ltd" Flight 27 August 1954 p296
  4. ^ 20:19 21/10/2010+7°C (2009-01-22). "In Brief - Russia’s next-generation warplane scheduled for maiden flight in 2009 | NEWS | The Moscow News". Mnweekly.ru. http://mnweekly.ru/news/20090122/55364701.html. Retrieved 2010-10-21. 
  5. ^ Dec 5, 2007 (2007-12-05). "Asia Times Online :: South Asia news - India takes aim at next level of defense". Atimes.com. http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/IL05Df03.html. Retrieved 2010-10-21. 
  6. ^ Boeing to export up to $1 billion in work to India | TheNewsTribune.com | Tacoma, WA
  7. ^ "Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd and Ilyushin start work on multi-role transport aircraft". domain-b.com. 2008-04-04. http://www.domain-b.com/aero/mil_avi/mil_aircraft/20080404_aircraft.html. Retrieved 2010-10-21. 
  8. ^ "India Signs Contract For $964M MiG-29 Upgrade". Aviation Week. 2008-03-10. http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_channel.jsp?channel=defense&id=news/MIG031008.xml&headline=India%20Signs%20Contract%20For%20$964M%20MiG-29%20Upgrade. Retrieved 2010-10-21. 
  9. ^ "HAL to make 1,000 Honeywell engines". The Financial Express. 2008-05-30. http://www.financialexpress.com/news/HAL-to-make-1-000-Honeywell-engines/316373/. Retrieved 2010-10-21. 
  10. ^ HAL to make new generation Dornier aircraft
  11. ^ "National : HAL bags $150-million Airbus order". The Hindu. 2008-03-19. http://www.hindu.com/2008/03/19/stories/2008031953481400.htm. Retrieved 2010-10-21. 
  12. ^ "Israel News : Israel outsources $100-mn composites for UAVs to India". Israelenews.com. http://www.israelenews.com/view.asp?ID=2282. Retrieved 2010-10-21. 
  13. ^ "Honeywell opens $65m R&D facility in Bangalore". Pacetoday.com.au. 2009-05-11. http://www.pacetoday.com.au/Article/Honeywell-opens-65m-R-D-facility-in-Bangalore/480844.aspx. Retrieved 2010-10-21. 
  14. ^ "Hindustan Aeronautics gets $50.7 mln helicopter contract from Ecuador air force". Forbes.com. 2008-06-26. http://www.forbes.com/afxnewslimited/feeds/afx/2008/06/26/afx5156692.html. Retrieved 2010-10-21. 
  15. ^ 7 Sep, 2008, 09.40AM IST,PTI (2008-09-07). "HAL to have maintenance base in Ecuador - The Economic Times". Economictimes.indiatimes.com. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News_By_Industry/Transportation/Airlines__Aviation/HAL_to_have_maintenance_base_in_Ecuador/articleshow/3454528.cms. Retrieved 2010-10-21. 
  16. ^ "TajaNews". TajaNews. http://www.tajanews.com/noqnews/nnqview.php?ArtID=2044. Retrieved 2010-10-21. 
  17. ^ "HAL secures order for ambulance version of ALH Dhruv from Peru". domain-b.com. 2008-06-24. http://www.domain-b.com/aero/aero_mfg/20080624_ambulance.html. Retrieved 2010-10-21. 
  18. ^ "HAL bags $20 million contract for supply of three Dhruv helicopters to Turkey". domain-b.com. 2008-08-12. http://www.domain-b.com/aero/aero_mfg/20080812_dhruv_helicopters.html. Retrieved 2010-10-21. 
  19. ^ 10 Jun, 2009, 08.48PM IST,PTI (2009-06-10). "HAL bags $10 mn order for Chetak, Cheetah from Namibia". Economictimes.indiatimes.com. http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/News-By-Industry/Transportation/Airlines--Aviation/HAL-bags-10-mn-order-for-Chetak-Cheetah-from-Namibia/articleshow/4641331.cms. Retrieved 2010-10-21. 
  20. ^ PTI, Mar 1, 2009, 04.30pm IST (2009-03-01). "India signs pact for supply of Dhruv helicopters to Mauritius". Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/India-to-supply-Dhruv-to-Mauritius/articleshow/4208514.cms. Retrieved 2010-10-21. 
  21. ^ PTI, Apr 2, 2008, 04.41am IST (2008-04-02). "'India, Israel developing unmanned helicopter' -Gulf-World-The Times of India". Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/World/India_Israel_developing_unmanned_helicopter_/articleshow/2918496.cms. Retrieved 2010-10-21. 
  22. ^ "India to construct new aerospace hub". Itexaminer.com. 2008-10-16. http://www.itexaminer.com/india-to-construct-new-aerospace-hub.aspx. Retrieved 2010-10-21. 
  23. ^ "HAL to upgrade Indian Jaguar fleet". Flightglobal.com. http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2008/07/24/226033/hal-to-upgrade-indian-jaguar-fleet.html. Retrieved 2010-10-21. 
  24. ^ PTI, Aug 16, 2007, 04.11pm IST (2007-08-16). "Hindustan Aeronautics to set up pilot training school-India Business-Business-The Times of India". Timesofindia.indiatimes.com. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-2285122,prtpage-1.cms. Retrieved 2010-10-21. 
  25. ^ AFP: India awards Russia billion dollar MiG-29 upgrade

External links