Antonov-32 Plane

India's state-owned military-plane maker Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) said that a joint venture to develop a multi-role transport aircraft is near completion. HAL is partnering with Russia's Ilyushin Design Bureau in the $600 million project, to which the two companies will contribute equally, HAL Chairman Ashok Baweja told a news conference here.

'The funding is ready and the programme is now on,' Baweja said of talks which dragged on since first conceived in the first half of this decade. The 60-tonne tactical transport aircraft, meant to serve the armed forces of the two countries, would take six-to-seven years to develop, with the components coming from Ilyushin production facilities in Russia, Baweja said.

To be used both for transport duties and troop deployment, the aircraft is meant to replace the Indian Air Force's ageing Antonov-32s even as the country also seeks transport aircrafts for the US. Last month, Defence Minister A.K. Antony said India plans to buy six Hercules transport planes, along with ground-support equipment and spares, from Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) of the US for $962 million.

The four-engine turboprop aircraft will be used as the main tactical aircraft for special operations, officials have said. Bangalore-based HAL manufactures under license Russian-designed Sukhoi and MiG fighter planes, British Jaguars and locally designed advanced light helicopters. In about a month, it will deliver to the Indian Air Force the first locally-built Hawk advanced jet trainer to be followed by 14 more over the next year, Baweja said.

The aircraft were among 66 trainer jets ordered by the Indian government in March 2004 from Britain's BAE Systems. Under the terms of the agreement, 24 Hawk trainers were bought off the shelf, while the other 42 are to be built under licence by HAL. In the financial year ended March 31, the state-owned company crossed two billion dollars in sales, which have doubled in three years, according to Baweja. Exports rose by a fifth to $81.25 million.

HAL received orders worth 233.15 billion rupees ($5.83 billion) during the year, including 159 advanced light helicopters to be delivered to the Indian armed forces. The company has 451 billion rupees of orders on hand, Baweja said.