The engine division of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) at Sunabeda in Orissa's Koraput district has got a separate overhauling department for Sukhoi-30 MKI fighter aircraft.
The facility was inaugurated by Union Minister of state for defence, M M Pallam Raju on Saturday.
The people of the state must be feeling proud for having a division of HAL at Sunabeda, Raju said. He also visited the M S Swaminathan Research Foundation at Jeypore in the same district.
The minister, who reached Sunabeda in a special helicopter, also reviewed the performance of the engine division of HAL, a public sector undertaking of the Government of India.
The engine division of HAL has a long term plan to undertake manufacture of AL-31FP engines for Sukhoi-30 KLI aircraft under license, sources said. The division has a unique distinction of manufacturing almost all types of components required for the manufacture and overhaul of engines and spares for service exploitation.
Sukhoi-30 MKI is a twin-engine military aircraft developed by Russia’s Sukhoi Aviation Corporation and is overhauled at the HAL’s engine division at Sunabeda before being supplied to the Indian Air Force (IAF).