Hindustan Aeronautics Limited is involved in the manufacturing of helicopters and aircraft as well as their repair and maintenance. It came into existence as on December 23, 1940, in Bangalore by Shri Walchand Hirachand. The Ministry of Defence took administrative control of the company in January 1951.  The HT-2 Trainer aircraft made its first flight in 1951 under the direction of Dr. V.M. Ghatge, who also designed and constructed it for HAL. The company was listed on BSE and NSE in 2018 after an IPO. The company has a rich customer profile spanning defence, civil and export. Defence customers primarily include the Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Coast Guard, etc. Civil customer mainly comprises the Border Security Force, Oil & Natural Gas Cooperation of India, Govt. of Karnataka, etc. HAL also earns revenue from exporting its products and services to customers such as Airbus Industries, France, Boeing, USA, Coast Guard, Mauritius, etc. In 2012-13, the company received Raksha Mantri’s awards for excellence in performance for the year 2010-11 under the Institutional Award category. It won the Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC)'s 'Star Performer' award for the year 2018-19 for defence-related products under the large enterprises category amongst public and private sector companies in India from the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India.

Business Segment

• Aircraft:The segment deals with the production and maintenance of aircraft. The key products under this segment include HAWK, LCA, SU-30 MKI, IJT, DORNIER and HTT-40.
• Helicopter:The helicopter segment deals with key products such as DHRUV, CHEETAH, CHETAK, LANCER, CHEETAL, RUDRA, LCH and LUH.
• Power Plant:The power plant segment earns revenue from key products such as ADOUR 871-07 (HAWK), GARRETT TPE 331-5(DORNIER), RD 33 and AL 31 FP, etc.
• Avionics:The key products under the segment include an Inertial Navigation System, Auto Stabilizer, Head-up Display and Laser range System, etc.
• Aerospace:The company offers its service to space programs via its Structures, Tanks and Cryogenic Engines.
• Exports:HAL derives revenue from exporting its products, such as Aerostructures, Software, Dornier-228, Spares and services, Helicopters, Engines, Avionics, and Casting/Forgings.

Corporate Action

In 2023, the company declared splitting the face value of its shares from ₹10 to ₹5. The share has been quoted on an ex-split basis from September 28, 2023.

Management Outlook

• The organization believes that the Indian defence market will continue to be a prime revenue source for HAL due to projects like LCA Mk1A, LCH, LUH and HTT-40 in the near future. HAL has undertaken various initiatives to make systems more agile, effective, cost-efficient and competitive.
• In addition, the organization is planning to strengthen its capability to cater to the above projects. It is installing new production lines for HTT-40 and LCA Mk1A production.
• HAL is also looking forward to diversifying and increasing its presence in UAV, Civil MRO & allied operations in the near term.

SWOT Analysis

Strengths

• Expertise in aircraft upgrades for Defence Customers.
• Trusted Partner of the Government of India.

Weaknesses

• Dependency on foreign OEMs for critical materials and LRUs.
• Limited presence outside India in the export market.

Opportunities

• The government’s core priority is to reduce the Defence import bill.
• Gradually developing civil MRO opportunities in India.

Threats

• Collaborations of Indian Private Companies with Global OEMs.
• Change in preference of Defence customers.