Strengthening India’s aerospace self-reliance, HAL receives the first LCA Mk1A wing assemblies from L&T, marking another leap in public-private defence collaboration.
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has received the first set of wing assemblies for the light combat aircraft (LCA) Mk1A from Larsen & Toubro (L&T). The components were handed over at a recent event held at L&T’s Precision Manufacturing and Systems Complex in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu.
The Ministry of Defence regarded this ceremony as a major step forward in HAL’s efforts to strengthen indigenous aircraft manufacturing under the LCA Tejas programme. The assemblies were officially received by Shri M Abdul Salam, General Manager of HAL’s LCA Tejas Division, while the event was attended virtually by Secretary (Defence Production), Mr Sanjeev Kumar.
The LCA Tejas Division has so far received several critical structural modules from Indian private companies including Alpha Tocol, Tata Advanced Systems, VEM Technologies, Amphenol, and Lakshmi Machine Works, showcasing growing private participation in defence manufacturing under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative.
At the event, L&T’s Senior Vice President, Mr Arun Ramchandani, announced that the company will initially supply four wing sets annually, with plans to scale up to 12 sets per year using advanced assembly and automation.
Meanwhile, the Defence Production Secretary praised the collaboration between HAL and L&T as a strong example of successful public-private partnerships in India’s aerospace sector.
Kumar noted HAL’s role in developing and supporting a capable private sector supply chain and expressed optimism about achieving LCA Tejas production targets. He also called for reduced reliance on foreign suppliers.
HAL Chairman and Managing Director Dr DK Sunil said the milestone reflects years of close collaboration between HAL and private sector players like L&T. He highlighted that HAL has successfully built a parallel structural assembly line within the private sector, boosting the production capacity of the LCA programme.
