HAL Chairman & Managing Director D K Sunil steps down

Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. on Friday announced that the company's Chairman and Managing Director, Dr D K Sunil has stepped down from his position.

"Dr. D K Sunil, has ceased as Chairman & Managing Director of the Company upon his superannuation on 30th April, 2026," HAL said in a regulatory filing on Friday.

Shares of HAL Ltd. closed at Rs 4336.70 per scrip on Thursday after a decline of Rs 15.40 (-0.35%).


Sunil was appointed to the said positions in September 2024. Prior to taking over as Chairman and MD, he was holding the post of Director (Engineering and R&D) of HAL from September 29, 2022.

Sunil joined HAL in 1987 as a Management Trainee, and had acquired 37 years of experience in varied roles in the company till his appointment as Chairman and MD by contributing significantly to design, production, quality enhancement, and customer support issues.

D K Sunil's tenure with HAL

During his tenure with the defence major HAL, the company developed new technologies like High Power Radar Power Supply, Voice Activated Control System, and Combined Interrogator Transponder, which have become new growth areas.

He also pioneered with institutions like IIT Kanpur for datalinks and IIIT Hyderabad for voice recognition technologies.

Sunil has also led teams focused on HAL's 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.

Alongside major tech upgradations and military aircraft developments, Sunil's tenure with HAL was also marked by the crash of the Tejas aircraft during a low-level aerobatic display at Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai, leading to the death of the pilot. Another incident occurred earlier where a Tejas light combat aircraft crashed in Jaisalmer, where the pilot ejected safely.

D K Sunil's educational profile

As per an earlier release by HAL, Sunil had completed his graduation in Electronics & Communication Engineering from Osmania University, Hyderabad.

He further pursued M. Tech in Aircraft Production Engineering from IIT, Madras. He completed Ph.D in Electronics Science from the University of Hyderabad in 2019.