Dr D K Sunil, Director of Engineering, Research, and Development, has assumed the position of Chairman and Managing Director (additional charge) of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), replacing CB Ananthakrishnan, who retired on Saturday. Sunil, known for his engineering and design expertise, takes on this role at a crucial time as the company prepares to undertake critical projects for the armed forces, including addressing the delays in the LCA Mk1A programme.
In a statement released on Saturday, HAL announced that Sunil had joined the company as a management trainee and has been with the firm for 37 years. He has significantly contributed to design, production, quality enhancement, and customer support and will continue to lead engineering, research, and development at HAL. The statement also highlighted Sunil’s extensive design expertise across a wide range of projects for aircraft and helicopters, covering all of HAL’s design activities.
“During his tenure at the Mission Combat Systems R&D Centre in Bengaluru, he led teams focused on groundbreaking projects, such as the advanced active electronically scanned array radar for fighters, automatic flight control system for the light combat helicopter, and mission computers for helicopters and fighter platforms,” it said.
During his leadership, HAL developed new technologies such as Radar Power Supply, Voice-Activated Control System, and Combined Interrogator Transponder, all of which have become new growth areas for the company. Sunil was an innovator in forming partnerships and established collaborations with institutions like IIT Kanpur for datalinks and IT Hyderabad for voice recognition technologies. According to the statement, his visionary approach is said to have strengthened HAL’s position in cutting-edge technologies.
While at the Mission Combat Systems R&D Centre in Bengaluru, he led teams focused on several innovative projects. These included the Active ESA Radar, the Automatic Flight Control System for the Light Combat Helicopter (LCH), and Mission Computers for helicopter and fighter platforms.
His extensive design expertise covers equipment and system-level projects for aircraft and helicopters, encompassing the full range of design activities at HAL’s design centres.
Under his strategic guidance, HAL successfully obtained military certification for the HTT 40 aircraft program and secured important projects such as the Indigenous Multi-Role Helicopter (IMRH) for the Indian Air Force and Army and the Utility Helicopter Maritime (UHM) for the Indian Navy.
One of his top priorities will be to accelerate the LCA Mk-1A programme. There are concerns about HAL’s ability to meet the delivery timeline of the 83 LCA Mk-1As on order. The Indian Air Force (IAF) is dissatisfied with the current pace of the programme, as delays in the induction of new fighter planes could pose risks to the air force’s combat effectiveness. The IAF has raised this issue with HAL and called for the timely execution of the contract.
The new incumbent will have a challenging task in starting the production of F414 engines in India. HAL has struck a deal with GE Aerospace for the joint production of F414 engines in India. The two companies inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in Washington in June 2023 to manufacture 99 F414 engines for India’s future LCA Mk-2 program. The collaborative production of these engines will help the country fill a significant technology gap, set the stage for the indigenous development of larger jet engines, and potentially pave the way for exports.
Ravi Shankar
