Indian Air Force HTT-40 Delivered

The Indian Air Force accepted its first three HTT-40 basic trainers from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited at Bengaluru on 18 September 2026 and gave the type the service name Ankur. Two were built on the Bengaluru line and one on the newer Nashik line. The handover opens deliveries under a 6,800 crore rupee contract for 70 aircraft concluded in 2022, and returns Indian ab initio pilot training to an indigenous aircraft for the first time since the HPT-32 Deepak was withdrawn. Deliveries ran well behind the original schedule, which had foreseen twelve aircraft in 2025-26; Hindustan Times reported that the first three engines reached the manufacturer in May 2026.