HAL, Russia's UAC Sign MoU to Produce SJ-100 Aircraft

• HAL partners with Russia’s UAC to produce SJ-100 aircraft, boosting India–Russia aviation ties
• HAL to manufacture SJ-100 in India, strengthening local aerospace capabilities
• The aircraft will support India’s UDAN scheme and meet rising short-haul aviation demand

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Russia's Public Joint Stock Company United Aircraft Corporation (PJSC-UAC) to produce the civil commuter aircraft SJ-100 in Moscow, Russia.

Prabhat Ranjan signed the MoU on behalf of HAL and Oleg Bogomolov signed on behalf of PJSC-UAC, in the presence of D.K. Sunil, CMD of HAL, and Vadim Badeka, Director General of PJSC-UAC, as reported by an official statement from HAL.

The MoU is for SJ-100 aircraft production, marking a major milestone in India Russia aviation through an Indo-Russian partnership that strengthens HAL civil aircraft capabilities and advances aerospace manufacturing in India.

The SJ-100, which is a narrow-body, twin-engine passenger plane, has a production count that exceeded 200 and over 16 different commercial airlines operating it all over the world.

Also Read: India Approves $626M Projects to Boost Electronics Manufacturing

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited stated, "SJ-100 will be the game changer for short-haul connectivity under the UDAN Scheme in India. Under this arrangement, HAL will have the rights to manufacture SJ-100".

This joint venture is a significant event in the history of Indian aviation as it is nothing less than the production of a fully assembled passenger aircraft in India. The last time such a step was taken by the HAL was the assembly of the AVRO HS748 which started in 1961 and ended in 1988.

HAL has mentioned that the project supports the demand for civil aviation in India and the government’s intention to develop local aerospace manufacturing.

Over 200 aircraft of this kind are likely to be needed in India’s air transport sector over the next ten years for improving regional connectivity, in addition to the 350 aircraft required for the Indian Ocean region, which would serve mainly tourism and economic integration purposes.