Hindustan Aeronautics Limited removes Hanuman image on aircraft at Aero India 2023

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited has removed the image of Lord Hanuman from the 'Hindustan Lead in Fighter Trainer' (HLFT)-42, which was on display at the Aero India 2023 show in Bangalore.

The image of Lord Hanuman, with the slogan, "The storm is coming", was seen on the vertical fin of the HLFT-42 at a static display on the first day of Asia's largest air show, which began on Monday.

"There used to be an HAL aircraft called HF-24 Marut (meaning wind). It was derived from it. There is nothing specific to derive from it (image of Lord Hanuman)," an official of the Bengaluru-headquartered HAL said. He also added that the objective of the image was to show the power of the aircraft.


The HAL displayed for the first time the scale model HLFT-42, at the Aero India.

HLFT-42 is the 'Next Gen Supersonic Trainer' that will play a "critical role" in modern combat aircraft training with state-of-the-art avionics like Active Electronically Scanned Array, Electronic Warfare Suite, Infrared Search and Track with Fly by Wire control system, HAL said last week.

(With inputs from PTI)