SOURCE: AFI
At the prestigious Aero India 2025, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) revealed that the Hindustan Jet Trainer (HJT-36), a critical aircraft in the Indian Air Force’s training fleet, has undergone extensive modifications and has now been officially renamed ‘Yashas’. The new name was unveiled by Shri Sanjeev Kumar, Secretary (Department of Defence Production), in the presence of Dr. D.K. Sunil, Chairman & Managing Director of HAL, and other senior officials.
The HJT-36, originally designed as an intermediate trainer aircraft, has undergone significant changes aimed at enhancing its departure characteristics and spin resistance across the entire flight envelope. These improvements were made after comprehensive testing, ensuring the aircraft’s enhanced safety, performance, and suitability as a training platform for future military pilots. The upgrades to the aircraft address vital aspects of its handling and stability, making it a modern, highly capable training tool for the evolving needs of military aviation.
Speaking about the renaming, Dr. D.K. Sunil explained, “The large-scale changes to the baseline intermediate training platform have led to significant upheaval in its capabilities, which provided an opportunity to assign a new name in accordance with the aircraft’s continued relevance as a training system for modern military aviation.” He emphasized that the name ‘Yashas’, which signifies “glory” or “success,” perfectly reflects the aircraft’s enhanced capabilities and its vital role in the training of pilots for the Indian Air Force and beyond.
The modifications to the HJT-36 have transformed it into a more advanced platform, ensuring its alignment with the latest standards in pilot training. The aircraft’s improved characteristics will allow it to effectively bridge the gap between basic and advanced training for pilots, making it an essential asset for grooming future aviators.
The ‘Yashas’ will play a crucial role in modernizing the training infrastructure of the Indian Air Force, offering superior capabilities for pilot development in both peacetime and combat scenarios. With its enhanced design and safety features, ‘Yashas’ is poised to become a key element of the IAF’s training ecosystem, helping prepare pilots to face the challenges of contemporary military aviation.
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