BENGALURU: Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane inaugurated the third LCA production line and also handed over the 100th Sukhoi-30 MKI ROH aircraft to Air Vice-Marshal Sarin, Assistant Chief of Air Staff (Eng A) in a programme at HAL’s Nashik Division on Friday.
The Signal Out Certificate (SOC) of the 100th ROH aircraft was handed over by Saket Chaturvedi, CEO (MiG Complex) to Air Vice-Marshal Sarin, in the presence of HAL CMD CB Ananthakrishnan and other senior officials.
Lauding HAL’s efforts in taking up the challenge of setting up an ROH facility for Su-30 MKI, Aramane appreciated the defence PSU for establishing a new production line for LCA manufacturing. Remarking that the HAL has been fulfilling the needs of the country’s security, he said, “The government has come out with several Aatmanirbhar Bharat policies, and that puts HAL in a very important position. HAL will be producing more in the coming years.”
Urging the HAL to take up new initiatives to aggressively compete in the defence market and look into new areas like unmanned vehicles, the secretary emphasised initiatives, innovation, and excellence and focus on performance. Ananthakrishnan said, “The new production line will enable the company to enhance LCA MK1A production capacity from 16 to 24 aircraft per year. HAL’s Nashik Division has achieved peak overhaul capacity.”