On Friday, October 24, 2025, the Indian company Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) announced on social media that the first serially produced HTT-40 (Hindustan Turbo Trainer–40) basic trainer aircraft, intended for the Indian Air Force (Bhartiya Vāyu Senā), had completed its maiden flight from the company’s airfield in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
Photos: HAL via X
“The first Hindustan Turbo Trainer-40 (HTT-40) Series Production aircraft, TH 4001, which will train the next generation Air Warriors, took to the skies at the HAL facility in Bengaluru today.
HTT-40 Basic Trainer Aircraft is a fully aerobatic, tandem-seat, turboprop aircraft built to provide basic flight training, aerobatics, instrument flying, and night flying.” said the announcement accompanied by two photos.
On August 11, the Indian Cabinet Committee on Security (Defence Acquisition Council, DAC) approved the framework purchase of 106 HAL HTT-40 aircraft, along with a training system, infrastructure, and support, worth the equivalent of 1,168,800,000 USD. The procurement was divided into two phases: 70 aircraft under the first implementation contract, and the remaining 36 in a subsequent phase, after the new training system is introduced. The first implementation contract was signed on March 1, 2023, for 68,283,600 INR, with deliveries scheduled over six years.
The HTT-40 is powered by a single Honeywell Garrett TPE331-12B turboprop engine generating 1,100 hp, which was selected on June 21, 2015. The aircraft has a wingspan of 11 meters, a length of 10.5 meters, and a maximum take-off weight of 2,800 kg. It has a range of 1,000 km and a maximum speed of 450 km/h. Optionally, it can carry armament such as a cannon or unguided bombs/rockets on detachable underwing hardpoints.
It is worth recalling that the path to this acquisition was a bumpy one. In June 2011, India selected the Swiss Pilatus PC-7 MkII as its new basic trainer aircraft, replacing the domestic HAL HPT-32 Deepak, which had been in production since 1977. A contract worth 523 million CHF was signed with Pilatus Aircraft on May 24, 2012, for the delivery of 75 PC-7 MkII aircraft (with an option for 106 more). The first aircraft were received in February 2013.
In December 2012, however, the purchase of 106 domestically developed HAL HTT-40 aircraft was canceled due to nearly double the projected unit cost (12.4 million USD instead of around 7 million USD). The domestic aircraft were originally intended to complement the PC-7 MkII fleet, as the Air Force’s total requirement amounted to 181 aircraft. As late as November 2014, India still declared its intention to exercise the option for additional Swiss aircraft if the HTT-40 program continued to face delays (by that time, 53 PC-7 MkII aircraft from the original order had been delivered).
The situation changed on February 28, 2015, when the purchase of 68 HTT-40 aircraft and 38 additional PC-7 MkII units was announced. A ray of hope for the domestic program appeared with the successful maiden flight of the HTT-40 prototype (serial number TSR001), which took place on May 30, 2016 (having been publicly unveiled for the first time on February 2, 2016). The second prototype, TSR002, took to the skies on May 19, 2017.
In August 2019, reports emerged of an investigation conducted by India’s Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) against Pilatus Aircraft, whose representatives in India were charged with corruption. The company was banned from conducting sales in the country for at least one year, and plans to purchase an additional 38 PC-7 MkII aircraft were frozen.
Almost simultaneously, HAL representatives announced that prototype testing of the HTT-40 would be completed by December 2019, and that the aircraft’s unit cost would decrease – provided the Ministry of Defence ordered more than 100 units. Full certification of the aircraft was expected by 2021, paving the way for negotiations on the framework agreement.
However, HAL continued to face difficulties in launching serial production. The main challenges included obtaining national certification, which delayed production approval, and the relatively low level of domestic content under the Make in India and AatmaNirbhar Bharat (Self-Reliant India) initiatives, which stood at 56% (expected to exceed 60% in the near future). For instance, the engine installed in the flight-tested serial aircraft was taken from one of the prototypes, as deliveries of new engines from the United States are expected only in November this year (Honeywell is scheduled to deliver a total of seven engines by March 2026).
The first Hindustan Turbo Trainer-40 (HTT-40) Series Production aircraft, TH 4001, which will train the next generation Air Warriors, took to the skies at the HAL facility in Bengaluru today.
HTT-40 Basic Trainer Aircraft is a fully aerobatic, tandem-seat, turboprop aircraft… pic.twitter.com/cj6wokQPUW— HAL (@HALHQBLR) October 24, 2025
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