India’s foray into passenger plane manufacturing..
India has taken a decisive step to enter this field, where only a handful of players exist, as of now. HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited), a wholly-owned government undertaking, has signed an agreement with Russia’s UAC to produce SJ100 passenger jets for domestic market. It needs to be mentioned here that the UAC (United Aircraft Corporation) like many other Russian firms faces western sanctions. India has chosen to defy it.
Photo sourced from Google Images
As India’s economy grows, more Tier 2 and Tier 3 towns spring up around the country. More and more people feel the need to visit different parts of the country and go abroad for various purposes. To facilitate such journeys, regional connectivity must be boosted. The large international airports need to be connected to far-flung areas through feeder airlines that need passenger aircrafts of lesser sitting capacity. India will need nearly 200 medium-sized aircrafts in the coming years. To cater to the needs of tourist destinations, another 350 aircrafts may be needed. Thus, the domestic demand will be sufficient for the manufacturing venture to break-even rather easily.
The above consideration must have weighed in the minds of India’s aviation planners to go for the Russian deal. SJ-100 will be the first India-made aircraft to fly in India’s skies.
SJ-100 is a twin-engine narrow body plane with a seating capacity of 100. India’s ties with UAC are long and deep. Under license from UAC, India manufactures the Sukhoi MKI fighter jet for Indian Air Force.
The only point of concern is the possible backlash from the U.S., E.U and Britain for defying their sanctions. Trump’s tirade against India for buying Russian crude oil has caused much worry in Delhi. If this deal adds up to Trump’s wrath, it could cause a lot of headache to avian planners in Delhi. The ongoing war in Ukraine and Russia’s stubborn refusal for a ceasefire has infuriated western leaders. India has been caught in the crossfire.
Notwithstanding the above fears, manufacturing SJ-100 inside the country will spruce up aviation-linked ancillaries and develop specialized manpower. Over all, this dea augurs well for India.
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