The HAL HLFT-42 (Hindustan Lead-in Fighter Trainer – 42) is a design for an Indian

lead-in fighter trainer A trainer is a class of aircraft designed specifically to facilitate flight training of pilots and aircrews. The use of a dedicated trainer aircraft with additional safety features—such as tandem flight controls, forgiving flight characteristic ...

proposed by

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is an Indian public sector aerospace and defence company, headquartered in Bengaluru. Established on 23 December 1940, HAL is one of the oldest and largest aerospace and defence manufacturers in the world. H ...

(HAL). Designed as a next-generation supersonic trainer jet, it is planned to serve as an advanced trainer for upcoming

HAL Tejas Mk2 The HAL Tejas Mark 2 (), or Medium Weight Fighter (MWF), is an Indian single-engine, Canard (aeronautics), canard delta wing, multirole combat aircraft designed by the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) in collaboration with Aircraft Research ...

and

HAL AMCA The Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) is a planned Indian single-seat, twin-engine, all-weather fifth-generation stealth, multirole combat aircraft being developed for the Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy. The aircraft is being des ...

fighter jets. Notably, the HLFT-42 will also be used as a fully-fledged fighter jet to perform combat missions.

HAL HAL may refer to: Aviation * Halali Airport (IATA airport code: HAL) Halali, Oshikoto, Namibia * Hawaiian Airlines (ICAO airline code: HAL) * HAL Airport, Bengaluru, India * Hindustan Aeronautics Limited an Indian aerospace manufacturer of fight ...

unveiled the design of the scale model of the HLFT-42 at the 14th edition of

Aero India Aero India is a biennial air show and aviation exhibition held in Bengaluru, India, at the Yelahanka Air Force Station. It is organised by the Defence Exhibition Organisation, Ministry of Defence. Organisers The Ministry of Defence, Indian A ...

(2023), which was held in

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

. The

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the air force, air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during armed conflicts. It was officially established on 8 Octob ...

has expressed its intent to use the HLFT-42 in the future to replace the existing BAE Hawk 132 jet trainers.

Development

The concept for the HLFT-42 was initiated in 2017, and officially unveiled at

2023 by

(HAL). As of 14 February 2023, HAL reported that the HLFT-42 development project had reached an advanced stage of development and was expected to progress to the final design stage within the next four to five years. Its primary role is to replace the

's current

BAE Hawk The BAE Systems Hawk is a British single-engine, subsonic, jet-powered advanced trainer aircraft. Its aluminum alloy fuselage is of conventional string-frame construction. It was first known as the Hawker Siddeley Hawk, and subsequently produc ...

jet trainers Jet, Jets, or The Jet(s) may refer to: Aerospace * Jet aircraft, an aircraft propelled by jet engines ** Jet airliner ** Jet engine ** Jet fuel * Jet Airways, an Indian airline * Super Air Jet, an Indonesian airline * Wind Jet (ICAO: JET), an I ...

and serve as the trainer for future fighter jets, including the

and

. Additionally, it will be capable of performing combat missions. In 2025, HAL revealed that it was redesigning the HLFT-42 following recommend actions from the IAF. HAL also plans to develop the HLFT-42 as the mothership for the HAL CATS unmmaned weapon system, replace the previously planned derivatives of HAL Tejas mk1A and the

SEPECAT Jaguar The SEPECAT Jaguar is a British-French supersonic jet attack aircraft originally used by the British Royal Air Force and the French Air Force in the close air support and nuclear strike role. As of 2025, the Jaguar remains in service with the ...

. Reportedly HAL has not chosen an engine to power the aircraft.

Design

HLFT-42 is designed as a single-engine, conventionally

swept-wing A swept wing is a wing angled either backward or occasionally forward from its root rather than perpendicular to the fuselage. Swept wings have been flown since the pioneer days of aviation. Wing sweep at high speeds was first investigated in Ge ...

aircraft with a

bubble canopy A bubble canopy is an aircraft canopy constructed without bracing, for the purpose of providing a wider unobstructed field of view to the pilot, often providing 360° all-round visibility. The designs of bubble canopies can vary drastically; so ...

. It is anticipated that maximum take-off weight of HLFT-42 will be around 16,500 kilograms. This aircraft will feature advance avionics, including an active electronically scanned array radar,

infrared search and track An Infrared Search and Track (IRST) system (sometimes known as infrared sighting and tracking) is a method for detecting and tracking objects which give off infrared radiation, such as the infrared signatures of jet aircraft and helicopters.Mahu ...

sensor A sensor is often defined as a device that receives and responds to a signal or stimulus. The stimulus is the quantity, property, or condition that is sensed and converted into electrical signal. In the broadest definition, a sensor is a devi ...

and electronic warfare (EW) suite, all complemented by a FBW system. The HLFT-42 mock-up displayed at Aero India (2023) showcased three

hardpoints A hardpoint is an attachment location on a structural frame designed to transfer force and carry an external or internal load. The term is usually used to refer to the mounting points (more formally known as a weapon station or station) on th ...

under each wing, three under the

fuselage The fuselage (; from the French language, French ''fuselé'' "spindle-shaped") is an aircraft's main body section. It holds Aircrew, crew, passengers, or cargo. In single-engine aircraft, it will usually contain an Aircraft engine, engine as wel ...

, and one on each wing tip, totaling 11 hardpoints for integrating weapons. These weapons may include close-combat-missiles (like

ASRAAM The Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missile (ASRAAM), also known by its United States designation AIM-132, is an imaging infrared homing air-to-air missile, produced by MBDA UK, that is designed for close-range combat. It is in service in the ...

) and beyond-visual-range missiles (such as

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), which effectively transform the HLFT-42 into a fully-fledged fighter jet.

Specifications (Projected)

References

{{reflist

External links

HAL Official Website for details of Media Releases about HLFT-42
Indian military aircraft procurement programs Proposed military aircraft HLTF-42 Single-engined jet aircraft Low-wing aircraft Aircraft with retractable tricycle landing gear

Development

Design

Specifications (Projected)

See also

References

External links