According to The Economic Times, Russian aerospace company and aircraft manufacturer Yakovlev has signed a preliminary agreement with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
Commenting on the development, Alexander Dolotovsky, Deputy General Director of Yakovlev, declined to share specific details but noted that the agreement marks the beginning of a significant collaboration.
HAL’s tie-up with Yakovlev may appear perplexing to many. The following background helps put it into perspective.
Historically, Yakovlev has developed both military and commercial aircraft. Military aircraft developed since its founding in 1930 include:
Yak-38 “Forger”: A VTOL, carrier-based fighter inducted in 1975, and the Soviet Navy’s first operational VTOL jet.
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Yak-130: A modern advanced jet trainer/light attack aircraft introduced in 2002. Developed jointly with Italy’s Aermacchi, the Yak-130 is a lead-in fighter trainer and has been widely exported.
On the commercial side, Yakovlev developed the Yak-40, the world’s first regional turbojet airliner, which entered service in 1966. This three-engine short-haul aircraft could carry 32 passengers and was certified to Western standards. Over 1,000 units were built, and the aircraft was widely exported.
The Yak-40 was followed by the Yak-42, a short-haul trijet airliner introduced in 1976 with seating for up to 120 passengers.
In recent months, Russian media and aviation outlets have reported that some Russian airlines are considering resuming operations of “mothballed” Soviet-era Yak-42 aircraft to cope with a severe shortage of airliners, following the grounding of Western-made aircraft due to sanctions.
Today, Yakovlev is actively involved in the development of both the MS-21 medium-haul airliner and the SJ-100 regional airliner.
As widely reported, on January 28, 2026, Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) and India’s Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) signed a joint agreement governing cooperation in the production of the Superjet 100 (SJ-100) in India. Under this agreement, UAC will grant HAL a license to manufacture and sell the SJ-100, including components, parts, and spare parts required for maintenance and repair.
The Superjet Design Bureau that developed the SJ-100 was integrated into Yakovlev in 2020.
Yakovlev is also likely overseeing the substitution of imported components with domestic analogues for both the MS-21 and SJ-100. Consequently, Yakovlev’s technical and programmatic inputs will be critical to the success of HAL’s local production efforts.
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