The first rear fuselage for Light Combat Aircraft Mk1A, produced by private firm Alpha Tocol Engineering Services, was handed over to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in the presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at Aircraft Division in Bengaluru.

What is fuselage?

• The fuselage or body of the airplane holds all the pieces together. The pilots sit in the cockpit at the front of the fuselage. 

• Passengers and cargo are carried in the rear of the fuselage. Some aircraft carry fuel in the fuselage; others carry the fuel in the wings.

• As with most other parts of the airplane, the shape of the fuselage is normally determined by the mission of the aircraft. 

• A supersonic fighter plane has a very slender, streamlined fuselage to reduce the drag associated with high speed flight. An airliner has a wider fuselage to carry the maximum number of passengers.

• HAL had placed orders on various Indian private companies such as L&T, Alpha Tocol Engineering Services, Tata Advanced Systems Ltd (TASL), VEM Technologies and Lakshmi Mission Works (LMW) for supplying major modules for the 83 LCA Mk1A contract.

• HAL has already manufactured 12 LCA MK1A rear fuselages, which are on the aircraft in the manufacturing line.

• With this supply, a major structure module produced by an Indian private partner will be integrated into the LCA Mk1A aircraft, enabling HAL to meet additional delivery commitments for IAF from 2025-26 onwards.

• Rajnath Singh termed the handing over as a milestone in the historic journey of India’s defence manufacturing.

• The defence minister commended HAL and the private sector for constantly strengthening the Armed Forces with the latest platforms and technologies.

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