Industry Odisha Bureau, Oct 05: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is scheduled to visit Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in Sunabeda, Odisha’s Koraput district on Tuesday, October 6. He will be visiting to lay the foundation stone for new facilities related to Shakti engine.
Singh is expected to reach Sunabeda in the afternoon after attending programmes at the Hindustan Shipyard Limited in Visakhapatnam. At HSL, he is scheduled to inaugurate upgraded maritime infrastructure. He will also participate in ship building related events before travelling to Koraput.
The proposed facilities at HAL Sunabeda come as India continues to expand domestic capabilities in defence manufacturing and aerospace technology. HAL’s Koraput division has been involved in aircraft engine manufacturing, overhaul and maintenance for several decades.
Security arrangements have been strengthened across Sunabeda ahead of the minister’s visit. Personnel have been deployed at key locations, while routes leading the HAL facility have been checked and sanitised.
“Security arrangements have been strengthened across Sunabeda, with adequate deployment of personnel. All routes leading to the venue have been thoroughly sanitised. Necessary security measures have been put in place for the minister’s visit,” Koraput SP Rohit Verma said.
HAL’s Koraput division was established in 1964 to manufacture R11-F2 turbojet engines for MiG-21FL aircraft under license from the Soviet Union. The facility later expanded its work to other aircraft engines and began undertaking engine overhaul operations.
The division has notably been associated with the overhaul of RD-33 engines used in MiG-29 aircraft and the manufacture and overhaul of engines supporting India’s military aviation requirements.
