Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (Hindi: ंदुिंदुस्तान ोरॉटनॉटिक्स मिटेडिटेड Hindustān eronawṭiks limited) is a state-owned Indian defense and aerospace company based in Bangalore, Karnataka. It is governed by the Indian Ministry of Defense. The state corporation is primarily involved in aerospace operations. These include the manufacture and assembly of aircraft, navigation and related communication equipment and airport operation. HAL built the first military aircraft in South Asia. He is currently involved in the design, manufacture and assembly of aircraft, jet engines, helicopters and spare parts. It has several facilities spread all over India. The locations where the manufacturing plants are operated by HAL include Nasik, Korwa, Kanpur, Koraput, Lucknow, Bangalore and Hyderabad. German engineer Kurt Tank designed the HF-24 Marut fighter-bomber, the first fighter plane manufactured in India.
Hindustan Aeronautics has a long history of collaboration with several other national and international aerospace agencies such as Airbus, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Sukhoi Aviation Corporation, Elbit Systems, Israel Aircraft Industries, RSK MiG, BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce plc, Dassault Aviation, MBDA , EADS, Tupolev, Ilyushin Design Office, Dornier Flugzeugwerke, India Aviation Development Agency and India Space Research Organization.
HAL was established as Hindustan Aircraft in Bangalore in 1940 on December 23, 1940. Hindustan Aircraft Company was duly incorporated under the Mysore Companies Act as a privately held company. Walchand Hirachand, President, Tulsidas Khilachand, Sr.Dharmsey Mularaj Khatau, Mr. ANRaghavachar (Representative of the State of Mysore), Mr. Venkatanaranappa (Mysore State Representative). The company's office opened in a bungalow called "Eventide" on Domlur Road. The initiative was actively animated by the Kingdom of Mysore, especially by its young Maharaja, HHJayachamarajendra Wadiyar and the Diwan, Sir Mirza Ismail. The shareholders of his own company - The Scindia Steam Navigation Company Ltd for diversification, but refused. He then wrote to the rulers of Baroda, Gwalior and Bhavanagar without success. Only Maharaja of Mysore responded favourably by accepting to invest 25 lakhs and gave initial 700 acres of free land.
The organization and equipment of the Bangalore factory was created by William D. Pawley of the New York Aviation Intercontinental Corporation, which had already established the Central Aircraft Manufacturing Company (CAMCO) in association with the Chinese nationalist government in China. Pawley managed to obtain a large number of machine tools and equipment from the United States.