In a major milestone for ‘Make in India’ and indigenisation programme in the defence sector, Samtel HAL Display Systems (SHDS), a joint venture between Samtel Avionics Ltd and the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), has accomplished the landmark of supplying 1,000 units of indigenously manufactured multi-function displays (MFDs) to HAL for induction into frontline Sukhoi-30MKI aircraft.

The proud accomplishment implies that now out of a planned fleet of 272 Sukhoi aircrafts with the Indian Air Force (IAF), 143 would be flying with India-made MFDs – a critical component of an aircraft cockpit. It may also be known that SHDS is the only company to receive the type approval from Centre for Military Airworthiness and Certification.

It may be noted that apart from Samtel, ‘ruggedisation technology’ is available only with six to seven companies worldwide. This successful indigenisation has reaped major benefits for the country; some of which include competitive price; significant reduction in turnaround time; reduction in field defects; considerable reduction in lifecycle MRO cost; and continuous improvements of these MFDs as per IAF needs.