PM Modi dedicates India’s largest helicopter manufacturing facility in Tumakuru, Karnataka

HAL hopes to generate over Rs 4 lakh crore in revenue by mass producing more than a thousand helicopters of varying payload capacities

By TBT Web Desk On Feb 6, 2023

Tumakuru (Karnataka) : Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the state-of-the-art India’s largest helicopter manufacturing factory of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) at Tumakuru in Karnataka on Monday. The facility will initially produce light utility helicopters (LUHs) in the factory spread over 615 acres.

Over the next 20 years, HAL hopes to generate over Rs 4 lakh crore in revenue by mass producing more than a thousand helicopters of varying payload capacities. The HAL has an existing facility in Bengaluru that manufactures high-tech, lightweight rotorcraft (ALHs).

Tumakuru, Karnataka, is home to a massive factory that Prime Minister Narendra Modi formally dedicated to the country on Monday. There were a large number of people from the Ministry of Defense present, including Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

The LUH is a single-engine, multipurpose utility helicopter that was designed and developed in-country and boasts exceptional manoeuvrability for a helicopter in its “3-ton class.” As production ramps up, the factory’s annual helicopter output could reach 90 units. Initially, it will produce around 30 units. Now that it has been tested in the air, the first LUH can finally be shown to the public.

The facility will be expanded to manufacture a wider variety of helicopters, such as light combat helicopters (LCHs) and Indian multirole helicopters (IMRHs). Helicopters for both military and civilian use will be serviced and overhauled there. According to the Ministry of Defense, the LUH civil variant could also be exported from this facility.

The helipad, flight hangar, final assembly hangar, structure assembly hangar, air traffic control, and maintenance facilities are all fully functional at the factory. It is being fitted with cutting-edge equipment and methods that adhere to the latest industry 4.0 standards. In 2016, Prime Minister Modi laid the facility’s foundation stone.

The foundation stone for HAL’s facility in Tumakuru was laid in 2016.