The Indian Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi dedicated to the nation Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) Helicopter Factory at Tumakuru in Karnataka on February 06, 2023.
He took a walkthrough of the Helicopter Facility & Structure Hangar and unveiled the Light Utility Helicopter (LUH). The factory is India’s largest helicopter manufacturing facility and will initially produce LUHs. The LUH is an indigenously designed and developed three-ton class, single engine multipurpose utility helicopter with unique features of high manoeuvrability.
Initially, this factory will produce around 30 helicopters per year and can be enhanced to 60 and then 90 per year in a phased manner. Addressing the gathering, the Prime Minister said, Karnataka is a land of saints and sages that have always strengthened the Indian traditions of spirituality, knowledge and scientific values.
The Prime Minister asserted and illustrated the point by the HAL project dedicated today, for which he had laid the foundation stone in 2016 with a pledge for reducing foreign dependence for defence needs.
The Prime Minister expressed delight that hundreds of arms and defence equipment are being manufactured in India which are being used by the Armed Forces. Throwing light on the aerospace sector, the Prime Minister pointed out that the investment made in this sector in the last 8-9 years is five times the investment made before 2014 plus 15 years prior.
The Prime Minister emphasised that hundreds of helicopters are going to be manufactured in this facility itself in the near future which will give rise to businesses worth Rs four lakh crore.
The Prime Minister referred to the recent propaganda to target the government in the name of HAL and said that falsehood, no matter how big, frequent or high, is always defeated in the face of truth.
“HAL’s Greenfield Helicopter Factory, covering 615 acres, is set to be a versatile hub for helicopter production and maintenance. Initial focus on LUHs will expand to include LCHs and IMRHs, contributing to a business exceeding Rs four lakh crores over two decades and fostering regional development and employment in Tumakuru.”
The proximity of the factory, with the existing HAL facilities in Bengaluru, will boost the aerospace manufacturing ecosystem in the region and support skill & infrastructure development such as schools, colleges and residential areas. Medical and health care would also reach the community residing in the various nearby Panchayats.
With the establishment of facilities like Heli-Runway, Flight Hangar, Final Assembly Hangar, Structure Assembly Hangar, Air Traffic Control and various supporting service facilities, the factory is fully operational. This factory is being equipped with state-of-the-art Industry 4.0 standard tools and techniques for its operations.
This factory will enable India to meet its entire requirement of helicopters without import and giving much needed fillip to the Prime Minister’s vision of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ in helicopter design, development, and manufacture. Karnataka Chief Minister Shri Basavaraj Bommai, Ministers of the state government and senior officials of Ministry of Defence were among those present on the occasion.