Aero India: Lord Hanuman on HAL trainer model's fin

The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) on Monday unveiled a scale model of its Hindustan Lead in Fighter Trainer (HLFT)-42 at the Aero India, with a fin signage generating interest among the delegates.

On the vertical fin of the mock-up is an image of Lord Hanuman, in a mace-swinging combat posture. The image comes with the text – 'The storm is coming'.

Read | Sky stunts, cheering crowds set tone for ‘biggest-ever’ Aero India

HAL has not officially spelled out reasons for the image on the trainer that has set off conversations online. A source, however, traced it to the trainer’s genesis, from an earlier, indigenously developed fighter from the 1960s named the HF-24 Marut.

The HLFT-42 is billed as the ‘Next-Gen Supersonic Trainer’ with critical utility in combat aircraft training.

It has state-of-the-art avionics including Active Electronically Scanned Array, Electronic Warfare Suite, Infrared Search and Track, and a Fly By Wire system.