Dr D K Sunil appointed Chairman and Managing Director of HAL

Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd on Monday announced the appointment of d Dr D K Sunil as the Chairman & Managing Director of the company. The move was based Ministry of Defence, Department of Defence Production, Government of India Letter.

Sunil held additional charge of Chairman & Managing Director from September 1. His term begin from the date of assumption of charge till April 30, 2026, the date of his superannuation or until further orders of Ministry of Defence.

Prior to taking over as Chairman & Managing Director, Sunil was holding the post of Director (Engineering and R&D) of the Company from September 29, 2022.



Sunil joined Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in 1987 as a Management Trainee, and has 37 years of experience in varied roles in the company contributing significantly to design, production, quality enhancement, and customer support issues.

Under his leadership, new technologies were developed like High Power Radar Power Supply, Voice Activated Control System, Combined Interrogator Transponder which has become new growth areas for the Company.

Sunil pioneered partnerships with institutions like IIT Kanpur for datalinks and IIIT Hyderabad for voice recognition technologies. His approach strengthened HAL’s position in cutting-edge technologies.


During his tenure in Mission Combat Systems R&D Centre in Bengaluru, he led teams focused on ground breaking projects such as Active ESA Radar, Automatic Flight Control System for Light Combat Helicopter (LCH), and Mission Computers for helicopter and fighter platforms.

His immense design expertise spans from the equipment level to system-level projects for both aircraft and helicopters, covering the entire spectrum of design activities at HAL’s design centers.

Acknowledged for his expertise, he was nominated to be a member of the DGCA External Expert Committee for the certification of the Hindustan-Dornier 228 Aircraft.

Under his, as Director (Engineering and R&D), the Company witnessed a series of achievements and advancements. Notably, under guidance, HAL successfully obtained release of military certification to the HTT 40 aircraft program, secured pivotal projects such as the Indigenous Multi-Role Helicopter (IMRH) for the Indian Air Force (IAF) and Army, as well as the Utility Helicopter Maritime (UHM) for the Indian Navy.

Sunil completed his graduation in Electronics & Communication Engineering from Osmania University, Hyderabad and M. Tech in Aircraft Production Engineering from IIT, Madras. He also completed Ph.D in Electronics Science from University of Hyderabad in 2019.