Bangalore: India's state-run aircraft maker Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) plans to design and develop a home-grown twin-engine all composite Advanced Jet Trainer (AJT) at a cost of Rs 750 crore.

Indian Air Force (IAF) engineers are vetting the design for the AJT, expected to have a transonic speed (speed of sound), the first such AJT in the world, with two power-plants to be built at HAL's Korhaput unit.

"We can develop the AJT in about Rs 750 crore and a period of 39 months from the clearance date," HAL Chairman N R Mohanty told in Bangalore today (Oct 31, 2004).

HAL looks at developing an AJT as a logical upgrade over the Intermediate Jet Trainer (IJT), which its engineers developed and flew in 22 months from the drawing board stage using technologies from the home-grown Tejas, the Light Combat Aircraft project that is currently undergoing flight trials.

"It will be an all composite aircraft, which will have a glass cockpit with modern avionics which can be used for combat besides training pilots," Mohanty said.

HAL and Russia's NPS Saturn are jointly developing the higher thrust 1,700 kg AL-551 engine, which will eventually power the IJT, undergoing trials with a French Larzac engine, besides it being used for the home-grown AJTs.

India last year signed a $ 1.7 billion deal to acquire 66 Hawk AJTs from British Aerospace, of which 24 would be delivered by BAe Systems beginning 2006 and the remaining 42 are to be built at HAL's Bangalore complex.