HAL gets contract to supply two Dornier aircraft to Indian Coast Guard

The Ministry of Defence signed a contract with state-owned company Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) on Friday for the procurement of two Dornier aircraft for the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) along with associated engineering support package at a cost of Rs 458.87 crore. The aircraft will be procured under the Buy (Indian) Category, an official release said.

The Dornier aircraft are being indigenously manufactured at HAL (Transport Aircraft Division), Kanpur."It will significantly contribute to achieving Aatmanirbharta in defence, in consonance with the 'Make in India' initiative of the Government," he said.

The aircraft will be fitted with a number of advanced equipment including a Glass Cockpit, Maritime Patrol Radar, Electro-Optic Infra-Red device, Mission Management System."The addition (of the aircraft) will further bolster the aerial surveillance capability of maritime areas of responsibilities of the ICG," the release said. The government has set the target of achieving defence manufacturing worth Rs 175,000 crore including defence exports of Rs 35,000 crore by the year 2024-25. India has taken several policy initiatives in the past few years and brought in reforms to encourage indigenous design, development and manufacture of defence equipment, promoting self-reliance in such manufacturing.