| The
HTT -40 is being developed by HAL despite IAF’s (Indian Air Force) reservations
on the necessity of continuing with the programme, as it has already acquired
the Swiss-made Pilatus PC-7 Mk II to meet its basic flying training needs. It
may be recalled that the IAF had decided to permanently ground its entire fleet
of HAL-made HPT-32 Deepak Basic Trainer Aircraft after yet another fatal accident
involving two experienced pilots in a post engine failure crash in the outskirts
of the city of Medak, Andhra Pradesh on July 31, 2009, even though it had to face
major difficulties in continuing with its flying training programmes. The July
2009 accident proved to be the proverbial ‘last straw’ for the IAF which had witnessed
17 fatal crashes claiming the lives of as many as 19 pilots since its induction
in service a few decades earlier. The unplanned grounding of the HPT-32 forced
the IAF to use its Kiran jet trainers for the ab initio training of its rookie
pilots – an unheard of situation for any air force in the world. It also resulted
in a Government-backed search for a new BTA on a war-footing to re-stabilise its
basic flying training programme. To redux, the BTA procurement process
for the IAF started during the last quarter of 2009, initially attracting as many
as seven contenders worldwide. Eventually, products of five bidders, namely; US
Hawker Beechcraft (T-6C), Swiss Pilatus (PC-7 Mk II), Korean Aerospace Industries
(KT-1), EADS (PZL-130 OrlikTC II) and German Grob G 120TP were flightevaluated
which commenced in September 2010 at the IAF’s airbase at Jamnagar and completed
in December 2010. While, three aircraft i.e. T-6C, KT-1and PC-7 Mk II passed the
trials, the winner was declared in June 2011 as the Swiss Pilatus PC-7 Mk II which
came out on top based on the commercial bidding. Finally, $523-million
or Rs 2,800 crore, contract which included of supply 75 PC-7 Mk II propeller trainers
and integrated ground-based training package was signed in May 2012 with option
of additional supply of 30 more aircraft within three years of contract signature.
As things stand today, induction rate of PC-7 Mk II aircraft has remained
ahead of schedule with the IAF already having received more than 60 aircraft.
The remaining aircraft will also be inducted into the IAF’s flying training units
before the end of this year. The IAF has never had it so good in terms of its
ability to provide basic flying training to its ab initio pilots. Impressed with
the PC-7 Mk II’s performance and reliability/ availability, the IAF had at one
stage recommended to the MoD to meet its entire BTA requirement of 181 aircraft
by direct purchase/licensed production of the Pilatus product and scrapping the
indigenous HTT - 40 programme. It may be noted that initially, while the MoD had
approved acquisition of 75 PC-7 Mk II aircraft from Pilatus on fast track to partly
fill the immediate void which had been created due to sudden grounding of the
HPT-32 in 2009, the HAL was to still go ahead with indigenous development and
production of the remaining 106 aircraft for the IAF. The IAF had cited
three major reasons in support of its recommendation to foreclose the HAL’s indigenous
endeavour. These pertained to the operational and maintenance problems of fielding
two different types of BTA s – a phenomenon unheard of in any air force in the
world; two, having to cope up with the financial burden of substantially higher
acquisition costs of the HTT -40 and; three, the uncertain and unpredictable HAL
timelines for its induction into service. Even the MoD agreed with the IAF, at
least in the beginning, with one of its officials noting, “We would be willing
to pay higher rates to build indigenous capability in strategic defence equipment.
But can HAL argue that the capacity to build basic trainers is strategically vital?”
So convinced MoD was with the IAF’s arguments that early this year it went
ahead with a follow on direct purchase order for the Pilatus to provide 38 more
aircraft to come closer in meeting the latter’s requirement for 181 Stage 1 basic
trainer aircraft. The IAF at one stage had suggested that if HAL was bent
upon producing a BTA then it could abandon its own HTT -40 project and instead
produce the remaining PC-7 Mk II under license to meet the IAF’s full requirement.
The IAF had even suggested that this option was not agreeable to HAL, it would
be ready and capable to license-produce the aircraft by itself in one of its BRDs
(Base Repair Depots). The latest developments however suggest that HAL
has been able to prevail upon the Government, and in an example of Prime Minister
Narendra Modi’s Make in India initiative, defence acquisition officials in MoD
have rescued the HTT -40 programme, literally from the dead, insisting IAF buy
enough HTT -40s from HAL to make the project commercially viable. But, with the
already committed purchase of 113 Pilatus PC-7 Mk II, deliveries of which are
projected for completion by 2017, the only way HAL can make its project economically
viable is by fasttracking the HTT -40’s development to keep the costs low and
hoping that eventually the IAF would need more than just the remaining 68 aircraft
to meet its possibly increased requirements in the future. In the meantime,
HAL’s selection of the Honeywell TPE331-12B to power the HTT -40 appears to be
a sound decision and a step in the right direction in fast-tracking the aircraft’s
development. The TPE331 is a very popular and proven engine Family, with over
13,000 delivered for diverse platforms such as the Short Tucano trainer aircraft,
the C-212 Aviocar transport aircraft, Dornier 228 and even the General Atomics’
RQ-9 Reaper Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UA V), etc. “Our TPE331-12B is one
of the most widely used and capable turboprop engines in service today.” said
Mr Arijit Ghosh, President Honeywell Aerospace India. “With our engine at its
core, HAL’s new, locally developed HTT -40 will offer pilots rapid acceleration,
low fuel consumption, improved reliability and the ability to train for a wide
range of missions.” At close to 1,100 shp (820 kW) maximum power output,
the TPE331- 12B is almost twice as powerful as the P&W PT6A-25A (550 shp, 410
kW) fitted on the PC-7 Mk II aircraft and does open up possibilities of adding
additional capabilities to the HTT -40, to enable it to perform wider range of
missions, provided of course, unlike most HAL products, it delivers on its promises.
Interestingly, HTT -40 reportedly draws its design inspiration from one of the
rejected contenders in the BTA competition – the US Beechcraft T-6CT exan, which,
itself is modeled after Pilatus’ more powerful PC-9 aircraft. Therefore, even
though indirectly, the HTT -40’s design characteristics are influenced by the
Pilatus. Incidentally, both the above-mentioned aircraft i.e. Pilatus PC-9 and
the Beechcraft T-6C Texan aircraft are powered by engines in the 1,100 shp (820
kW) class. The HTT -40’s maiden flight is expected later this year | 
