Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), the sole aircraft manufacturer in India, has announced that it will establish an office in Malaysia. Towards this, the airframer has inked a Memorandum of Understanding, which will take up the market promotion of HAL’s range of products and services in South East Asia.
The new office will enable HAL to get new business opportunities in Malaysia for Fighter Lead-in Trainer (FLIT) LCA and other requirements of the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF), such as upgrades for its fleet of Sukhoi Su-30 MKM fighter aircraft and Hawk Advanced Jet Trainers (AJT).
HAL is currently in the fray for an RMAF requirement for a light fighter for which the latter has issued a global tender. HAL submitted a proposal for supplying 18 FLIT LCAs to Malaysia’s Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) in October 2021 against a global tender issued by RMAF. The final winner of the tender is expected to be declared soon by Malaysian authorities.
“LCA Tejas stands a fair chance of selection in the bid as it meets all the parameters sought by RMAF,” HAL said in a release. It has also offered its support to the RMAF to extend the necessary support to the RMAF’s Su-30 MKM fleet, which is facing low serviceability issues due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis.