Established on 23 December 1940 byWalchand Hirachand as Hindustan Aircraft Limited, the company is one of the oldest and largest aerospace and defence manufacturers in the world. The company began manufacturing aircraft in 1942 with licensed production ofHarlow PC-5,Curtiss P-36 Hawk andVultee A-31 Vengeance for theIndian Air Force.[8] The company started manufacturing jet engines in 1957 with the licensed production ofBristol Siddeley Orpheus engines. It was established as Hindustan Aeronautics Limited on 1 October 1964. TheHF-24 Marut, afighter-bomber manufactured by HAL in the late 1960s, was the first indigenous combat aircraft to be made in India.
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) was formed on 1 October 1964 (theRegistrar of Companies has a registration date of 16 August 1963)[11] when Hindustan Aircraft Limited joined the consortium formed in June by the IAF Aircraft Manufacturing Depot, Kanpur (at the time manufacturing HS748 under licence) and the group recently set up to manufacture MiG-21 under licence, with its new factories planned in Koraput, Nasik and Hyderabad.[12] Though HAL was not used actively for developing newer models of fighter jets, except for theHF-24 Marut, the company has played a crucial role in modernisation of theIndian Air Force. In 1957, the company started manufacturingBristol Siddeley Orpheus jet engines under licence at new factory located inBengaluru.
During the 1980s, HAL's operations saw a rapid increase which resulted in the development of new indigenous aircraft such as theHAL Tejas andHAL Dhruv. HAL also developed an advanced version of theMikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21, known as MiG-21Bison, which increased its life-span by more than 20 years. HAL has also obtained several multimillion-dollar contracts from leading international aerospace firms such asAirbus,Boeing andHoneywell to manufacture aircraft spare parts and engines.
By 2012, HAL was reportedly bogged down in the details of production and has been slipping on its schedules.[13] On 1 April 2015, HAL reconstituted its Board with TS Raju as CMD, S Subrahmanyan as Director (Operations), VM Chamola as Director (HR), CA Ramana Rao as Director (Finance) and D K Venkatesh as Director (Engineering & R&D). There are two government nominees in the board and six independent directors.
Light Combat Helicopter induction into the Indian Army
In March 2017, HAL's chairman and managing director T Suvarna Raju announced that the company had finalised plans for an indigenisation drive. The company plans to produce nearly 1, 000 military helicopters, including Kamov 226, LCH (Light Combat Helicopter) ALH (Advanced Light Helicopter), and over 100 planes over the next 10 years. HAL will manufacture the Kamov 226T helicopter under a joint venture agreement with Russian defence manufacturers. The Kamov 226T will replace the country's fleet of Cheetah and Chetak helicopters. Over the next 5 years, HAL will carry out major upgrades of almost the entire fighter fleet of the Indian Air Force, including Su-30MKI, Jaguars, Mirage and Hawk jets, to make them "more lethal". The company will also deliver 123 Tejas Light Combat Aircraft to the IAF from 2018 to 2019, at a rate of 16 jets per year.[14]LCH production will now take place in a newly built Light Combat Helicopter Production Hangar at Helicopter Division in HAL Complex.[15]
In view of theMake in India policy and to increase the share of defence exports to achieve the target of $5 billion by 2025, HAL is planning to set up logistic bases inIndonesia,Malaysia,Sri Lanka andVietnam with priority target forSoutheast Asia,West Asia andNorth African markets. It would not only help to promote HAL products but also act as service centre forSoviet/Russian origin equipment.[16]
In October 2024, HAL was givenMaharatna status, which allows the company to have more operational and financial autonomy.[17] In 2025, HAL invited private Indian companies to enter into a joint venture for the production of theAdvanced Medium Combat Aircraft, in which HAL would hold a 50% stake and four private companies would each hold a 12.5% stake.[18]
In June 2025, theIndian Space Research Organization (ISRO) transferred the technology of theSmall Satellite Launch Vehicle to HAL, which was the first time ISRO transferred the entire technology of a rocket to a single company, for which HAL paid₹511 crore (US$60 million) to ISRO.[19] Also in June 2025, HAL andSafran Aircraft Engines (SAE), a French aircraft engine manufacturing company, signed an agreement for HAL to manufacture rotating parts for SAE'sLEAP engines.[20]
On 29 December 2023,Defence SecretaryGiridhar Aramane opened a new design and testing facility at the HAL Aero Engine Research and Development Centre (AERDC) in Bengaluru. AERDC is involved in the development,testing and commercialisation of HAL's line of in-house aero-engines.[21][22]
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One of the largest aerospace companies in Asia, HAL has annual turnover of overUS$3 billion. More than 40% of HAL's revenues come from international deals to manufacture aircraft engines, spare parts, and other aircraft materials. A partial list of major operations undertaken by HAL includes the following:
US$1 billion contract to manufacture aircraft parts forBoeing.[23]
120RD-33MK turbofan engines to be manufactured for MiG-29K by HAL for US$250 million.[24]
Contract to manufacture 1,000 Honeywell TPE331 aircraft engines forHoneywell worth US$200,000 each (estimates put total value of deal at US$200 million).[25]
221Sukhoi Su-30MKI being manufactured at HAL's facilities inNasik,Koraput and Bengaluru. The total contract, which also involves Russia's Sukhoi Aerospace, is worthUS$3.2 billion.
Over the years, HAL has designed and developed several platforms like the HF-24 Marut,[41] the Dhruv,[42] the LUH,[43] and the LCH.[44] HAL also manufactures indigenous products with technology transferred from theDRDO, in association withBharat Electronics for its avionics andIndian Ordnance Factories for the on-board weapons systems and ammunition.
HAL suppliesISRO the integrated L-40 stages forGSLV Mk II, propellant tanks, feed lines ofPSLV, GSLV MKII andGSLV MKIII launch vehicles and structures of various satellites.[45]
HAL Tejas —(in service) 4.5 generation light combat aircraft (LCA)
HAL Tejas MK2[46] — 4.5+ generation Medium weight fighter (under development) 2025 first flight expected.
HAL TEDBF — Twin Engine Deck Based Fighter is 4.5+ generation fighter forIndian Navy's aircraft carriers (under development).[47]HAL ORCA version for IAF planned.
Mk.2: 5.5th generation stealth fighter ( it will operate inCATS {combat air teaming system}, a UCAV in the swarm will be equipped with a directed-energy weapon)(planned).
HTSE-1200 — a turboshaft engine can be used as engine alternatives for the HAL-developedLUH,Dhruv,Rudra andPrachand helicopters[60] (under development)
HTFE-25 — a turbofan engine can be used in single engine trainer jets, business jets and UAVs weighing up to 5 tonnes and in twin engine configuration for same weighing up to 9 tonnes[62] (under development)
Dornier 228 — (under production) 117 built with additional fuselage, wings and tail unit for production of the upgradedDornier 228 NG variant. Sometimes referred to as HAL 228. Several variants including Maritime Surveillance and Utility version under production in atTransport Aircraft Division.
^"Archived copy". Archived from the original on 9 March 2012. Retrieved8 May 2013.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)Flight International 1964
₹33,542 crore (US$4.0 billion) (2025)
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