In what can be dubbed as India’s progression in its foray into civil aircraft programmes, state-owned aerospace manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) has executed a programme for the delivery of rear fuselage of Gulfstream (G-150) aircraft for Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI).
The Bangalore-headquartered Navratna company on Tuesday handed over the first rear fuselage to IAI, signifying the company’s gradual rise from being a manufacturer of door assemblies to being the supplier of vital parts of the aircraft.
Gulfstream (G-150) is a business executive aircraft built by the US-based Gulfstream Aerospace Corp in partnership with the IAI. The wide-cabin version of the G-100 business jet, the G-150 is manufactured in the IAI production facilities in Tel Aviv, before being transported to the US for furnishing. The G-150 is marketed globally by Gulfstream Corporation.
The IAI, in late 2006, had approached HAL with a request for quotation (RFQ) for building the fuselage as they required a partner to build the fuselage from the digital data. Consequent to this, IAI signed a contract with HAL in 2007 for producing 200 ship-sets of G-150 fuselages the size of which is estimated to be in the range of $30-35 million.
As part of the contract, HAL was to deliver the fuselage shipsets within seven years of signing the deal. HAL developed a dedicated hanger in Bangalore to develop the fuselage.
“The aircraft division has made a mark on the international export map over the years by supplying several types of door assemblies to Boeing, Airbus and other global firms. With the G-150 fuselage delivery, HAL has now entered a fairly advanced manufacturing level of building major structural assemblies for global players in the civil sector,” HAL chairman Ashok Nayak said.
HAL has partnered many private sector players in India to execute the programme. Nayak said, the success of the project had given the company strong confidence to take up bigger challenges in future. HAL is also bidding for the G-250, Gulfstream Aerospace’s twin-engine business jet which is being jointly manufacturered by IAI, Spirit AeroSystems and Gulfstream. “HAL-IAI has a time-tested partnership and we are here to capitalise on the vast potential in the business jet market,” added Nayak who recently took over as HAL chairman from Ashok K Baweja.
HAL’s order book position for fiscal 2009-10 stands at Rs 60,000 crore. According to the provisional financial results, the company registered a sales turnover of Rs 10,260 crore in fiscal 2008-09, registering an increase of 19 per cent on year-on-year basis.
