BENGALURU: Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane inaugurated a new design and test facility at HAL’s Aero Engine Research and Development Centre (AERDC) in Bengaluru on Friday. Speaking on the occasion, Giridhar Aramane said, “Manufacturing sector is the future of our country and in the coming decades. HAL should focus on mastering technologies for all types of aircraft. Think ahead as the entire paradigm of warfare is changing.”
Thrusting on the role of unmanned aircraft in future warfare, he encouraged HAL to collaborate with private companies to develop new platforms. “HAL is the largest defence public sector unit in India and I want it to become one the top ten companies in the world,” Aramane added.
The AERDC is currently involved in the design and development of several new engines including two strategic engines — the Hindustan Turbo Fan Engine (HTFE) of 25 kN thrust for powering trainers, UAVs, twin-engine small fighter aircraft or regional jets and Hindustan Turbo Shaft Engine (HTSE) of 1200 kN thrust for powering light and medium weight helicopters (3.5 to 6.5 tonnes in single/twin-engine configuration). The new state-of-the-art facility houses special machines, advanced setups leveraging computational tools, an in-house fabrication facility and two test beds for testing HTFE-25 and one testbed each for testing HTSE-1200 and upcoming JV engine for IMRH to be co-developed by Safran, France and HAL, an official release stated.
In addition, the newly developed facility, spanning over 10,000 sq meters, has setups for testing Air producer of Jaguar, Gas Turbine Starter Unit (GTSU) -110 M2 and 127E of LCA, Auxiliary Power Units of IMRH and AMCA, Gas Turbine Electrical Generator (GTEG)-60 for An-32 aircraft. Setups to carry out various critical tests for engine components and LRUs have also been established within the new facility, the releases added.
CB Ananthakrishnan, CMD (Addl. Charge), HAL said, “The development of this facility marks a key milestone in HAL’s growth trajectory. It is a testimony of HAL’s commitment towards achieving Aatmanirbharta in aero-engine design and development.”