Aero India Show 2023: Lord Hanuman’s Image on HAL’s Fighter Trainer Aircraft Exhibited, Sparks Row

The airshow featured a wide range of military aircraft, ranging from indigenous Tejas to Russian-origin Su-30 MKI to US-made F-35 and F-16.

Written by: India.com News Desk Edited by: Victor Dasgupta

Updated: February 13, 2023, 10:25 PM IST

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Hanuman’s Image on HAL’s Fighter Trainer Aircraft

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday inaugurated the Aero India 2023 airshow at Yelahanka air base in Bengaluru. The airshow exhibited a wide range of military aircraft, ranging from indigenous Tejas to Russian-origin Su-30 MKI to US-made F-35 and F-16. However, an image of Lord Hanuman that was featured on the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) jet become one of the key attractions and also sparked a significant row.

The scale model of Hindustan Lead In Fighter Jet, exhibited at the Aero India Show 2023, consists of the image of the Hindu God on its tail. The opposition is terming this as an attempt by the government to promote one particular religion. The jet is a next-generation supersonic trainer and is expected to give a boost to the Indian armed forces.

This is fire, Storm creator Bajrang Bali on HAL’s new HLFT-42 fighter 🔥 pic.twitter.com/onCMyE6KXm

— Political Kida (@PoliticalKida) February 12, 2023

According to HAL, with the embossed picture of “Bajrang Bali Hanuman” on its tail, HLFT-42 is the ‘Next Gen Supersonic Trainer’ that will play a “critical role” in modern combat aircraft training with state-of-the-art avionics like Active Electronically Scanned Array, Electronic Warfare Suite, Infrared Search and Track with Fly by Wire control system.

Aero India 2023: Key Details

• Around 250 business-to-business agreements are expected to be firmed up at the Aero India
• The Aero India show is estimated to unlock investment to the tune of around Rs 75,000 crore.
• Show’s main focus will be displaying indigenous equipment and technologies and forging partnerships with foreign companies, in line with the ‘Make in India, Make for the World’ vision of the government.
• The event will significantly contribute to the development of the aerospace and aviation sector
• Defence ministers of 32 countries, Air Chiefs of 29 nations and 73 CEOs of global and Indian defence companies are expected to attend Aero India.
• There will be an exhibition of indigenous defence products where established business organisations and start-ups will be able to demonstrate their products.
• The major exhibitors at the Aero India will include Airbus, Boeing, Dassault Aviation, Lockheed Martin, Israel Aerospace Industry, BrahMos Aerospace, Army Aviation, HC Robotics, SAAB, Safran, Rolls Royce, Larsen & Toubro, Bharat Forge Limited, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) and BEML Limited.
• About five lakh visitors are expected to attend the event physically, the defence ministry said.
• Aero India 2023 will cover design leadership, growth in the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) sector, defence space and futuristic technologies.

The event aims to promote the export of indigenous air platforms like Light Combat Aircraft (LCA)-Tejas, HTT-40, Dornier Light Utility Helicopter (LUH), Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) and Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH).