HAL has taken proactive steps in proposing upgrade solutions for the Hawk, Su-30 MKI, and Dornier jets.
"HAL has taken this step to obviate the concerns of our customers on long-term supportability," said HAL Chairman T Suvarna Raju.
Similarly, HAL has taken up the upgrade of the home-grown Jaguar DARIN-III. "The upgrade will further accentuate the performance of the Jaguar and would be a cost-effective and state-of-the-art solution," Raju said.
Raju said the Mirage upgrade programme has made significant progress with the first aircraft being test flown.
New initiatives
HAL has taken up a range of new initiatives with an eye on its long-term goals. The company is setting up green field facilities for the manufacture of the Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) and the Naval Multi-role Helicopter (NMRH).
The Centre has mandated HAL and National Aeronautical Laboratory (NAL) to jointly take up the design, development, and manufacture of the 70-100 seater regional civil aircraft through a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV).
The teams have started working and approvals are being obtained from MoD.
He said since a meagre 2 per cent of the Indian population is vocationally skilled as compared to 75 per cent in Germany, 96 per cent in Korea, 80 per cent in Japan and 68 per cent in the UK, HAL has registered a section-8 company along with Bangalore Chambers of Industry and Commerce (BCIC) & Society of Indian Aerospace Technologies and Industries (SIATI) for skill development in the aerospace sector.
This aerospace skill council would firm up the skill requirements (in the long term) of this highly technology intensive sector.