CSIR begins work on low-cost, electrically-powered trainer aircraft E-Hansa

The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has started work on developing a next-generation electrically-powered two-seater trainer aircraft. Christened E-Hansa, it will provide an economic alternative to foreign aircraft and also mark a key step toward India’s green aviation goals and the use of clean energy fuel in operating aircraft.

Being developed by CSIR’s National Aeronautical Laboratory, the aircraft is expected to cost around Rs 2 crore, which is roughly half the price of a comparable imported trainer aircraft in this category.

A review meeting chaired by Dr Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State for Science and Technology, who is also the vice-president of CSIR, was held on Tuesday, where the project was discussed.

E-Hansa is part of the larger Hansa-3 (Next Generation) trainer aircraft program, which is designed to be a cost-effective and indigenous option for training pilots in India.

Next Generation (NG) is a more advanced version of the earlier variants of the Hansa series, which made its first flight in November 1993.

The NG version has better aerodynamics, manufacturing methods and avionics, with a glass cockpit and GPS integrated navigation and communications system. Hansa is the first indigenously produced all-composite aircraft in India.

The meeting, which was attended by the top officials from ISRO, Department of Atomic Energy and all major scientific departments, focused on performance assessment, implementation status of prior decisions and setting the course for transformative reforms in India’s science and technology ecosystem, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Science and Technology.

The success of ISRO’s SPADEX mission, where the capability of docking and undocking of satellites in space that is vital to India’s upcoming Gaganyaan human spaceflight, was also commended.

While lauding ISRO’s substantial role in Operation Sindoor that involved precision strikes by the Indian Armed Forces on terror camps and military installations in Pakistan, Dr Jitendra Singh said that ISRO is currently collaborating with 40 union ministries and 28 state governments on a series of upcoming missions.

Regarding India’s contribution to the Axiom Space Mission, ha said that IAF pilot, Group Captain Subhash Shukla’s visit to the International Space Station (ISS) will include seven microgravity experiments, further boosting India’s space science profile.