B'lore: HAL all set to storm Aero India 2007

Bangalore, Feb 2: Defence aviation major Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) will be cementing new partnerships and projecting its research and development capability, besides various ongoing programmes at Aero India 2007, to kick start here on February seven.

Advanced Light Helicopter Dhruv, Light Combat Aircraft Tejas and the Intemediate Jet Trainer would be both on static and aerial display at the show, which would see HAL forging new relations and extending existing ones to take the Indian aviation to new heights, a HAL release here said today.

The company would also exhibit its advances in machining, composites and state-of-the-art technological capabilities in aviation and aerospace.

The five-day event would see the top brass of HAL interact with a host of aviation majors, including Boeing, Airbus, GE, Safran, Martin Baker, Elbit, Pratt and Whitney, Dassault, Eurocopter, Honeywell, Bell, EADS, BAe Systems, IAI, GAE, SAAB, RUAG, Lockheed Martin, Irkut, Sukhoi Design Bureau, Rosoboron Export, RAC-MiG and NPO Saturn to extend cooperation, the release said.

HAL was also set to have fruitful discussions with potential customers and interact with some decision-makers for future cooperation and enhancement of exports, it added.

''On the eve of Aero India, HAL looks forward to the future with quiet confidence. In the vibrant India of today, HAL would play an enabling role in encouraging and fostering Indian ambitions to be a leading role player in the world aviation scenario of the next decade...With a firm order book on hand, HAL is cruising ahead to become a powerhouse for design, analysis, engineering and software solutions,'' HAL Chairman Ashok K Baweja said.

This Aero India, HAL would stamp its authority on rotary wing capabilities, weaponisation programmes and strengths in aerospace, he said.

With the Cabinet Committee on Security clearing the Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) programme, HAL would be displaying a detailed full-scale mock-up of the LCH at Aero India. The LCH model would be loaded with a 20-mm gun, 70-mm rocket and an electro-optical pod.

The HAL stall would also sport a fully-functional front section of a Jaguar upgrade with the DARIN-II version, the release said.

HAL was likely to sign memoranda and agreements for cooperation in thrust areas. The company would also explore sourcing possibilities from aerospace companies and pitch in for strategic alliances for IT-based services in design and development.

HAL would use Aero India as an ideal platform to forge ties for new ventures, including multi-role transport aircraft (MTA), medium-lift helicopter, MRO for civil aircraft and the design, development and manufacture of UAVs.

UNI