HAL, Ruag to jointly manufacture Dornier aircraft in Germany

Mumbai: Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) will manufacture a new generation of Dornier-228 aircraft under a Euro 80 million ($123 million) deal with Ruag Aerospace of Switzerland, its new owner.

Under a new agreement signed during the recent Berlin Air Show, HAL and Ruag Aerospace will jointly manufacture a new generation of Dornier-228 aircraft in Germany.

The new generation Dorniers will be manufactured at its traditional production base in Oberpfaffenhofen, near Munich,  would give HAL a breakthrough in Germany and eventually pave the way for global marketing the aircraft from its Indian production base, he said.

HAL is already manufacturing the twin-engined turbo-prop aircraft at Kanpur under licence from the parent company Dornier-Fairchild of Germany and Ruag Aerospace.

HAL, which has built up the complete production line and servicing facilities for the Dornier 228 aircraft, hopes to break into the international market with joint production of the aircraft in Germany.

HAL will initially supply the fuselage, wings and the tail unit  for manufacturing a "new generation" of Dornier-228 aircraft. While the initial supplies are valued at around Euro 5 million, the ten-year contract has a total value of Euro 80 million. HAL will also increase its involvement over the years by adding new components for the production line.