HAL aims to tap civilian market

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) will place a stronger emphasis on the civilian market, targeting it to contribute 25% of its total turnover over the next 10 years, its Chairman D.K. Sunil said on Wednesday. This will entail leasing and domestic manufacturing of Russia’s SJ 100, he said.

“We will focus on increasing our civil footprint and the target is that about 25% of our turnover should come from civil aviation over the next 10 years,” Mr. Sunil said at a press conference at the Hyderabad Airshow.

HAL plans to buy 10 of the SJ-100 aircraft in the beginning, and over a span of next three years start manufacturing the same in the country.

In the interim, it will learn from the feedback received from airline customers on SJ-100’s reliability, maintenance and ground support.  In the beginning there will be semi-knockdown units would be brought into the country, and later domestic manufacturing. Assembling and manufacturing facilities were already available at Nasik and Nagpur. The investment cost has not yet been determined.

“The aircraft will be our mainstay for UDAN scheme,” the HAL Chairman said. The aircraft has a range of 3,500 km and is capable of flying for six hours.

In October 2025, HAL announced signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Russia’s Public Joint Stock Company United Aircraft Corporation (PJSC-UAC) for the production of civil commuter aircraft SJ-100 in India. 

The PSU has also bagged its first order of 10 Dhruva- NG helicopters from Pawan Hans for its offshore flight operations for ONGC. The certification process for the helicopter is also expected to be completed soon, and the deliveries are expected in 2026-2027, and orders are also expected from BSF.

“This is a twin engine helicopter and is much more safe and reliable. This is its biggest pull considering the recent helicopter crashes seen in the hilly regions in the north,” Mr. Sunil said.