HAL shares surged 3.5% to ₹4,833.45 on Tuesday's trading session amid heavy volume activity, with the stock hitting a 52-week high of ₹5,149.90 on August 17, 2026. According to Business Standard, the stock outperformed the broader market with average trading volume jumping over four-fold, with a combined 1.08 million shares changing hands on NSE and BSE. At 02:53 PM, HAL quoted 3% higher at ₹4,826.50, significantly outpacing the 0.72% rise in the BSE Sensex. The strong performance reflects investor confidence in the company's expansion plans and operational milestones.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh laid the foundation stone for HAL's new Shakti engine production line at the Koraput facility in Odisha on Tuesday, marking a significant milestone in India's aerospace journey. The ₹218 crore investment will manufacture up to 100 Shakti engines annually and is scheduled to be fully operational by 2028-29, catering to indigenous helicopters including the Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopter and Prachand Light Combat Helicopter. According to Business Standard, Singh described the milestone as a significant achievement and called for strengthening indigenous capabilities in aero-engine design, development, testing, manufacturing and maintenance. The Shakti engine programme is an Indo-French joint initiative between HAL and Safran Helicopter Engines to develop the Indian version of the Ardiden 1H1 turboshaft engine for the country's military requirements.
The ₹218 crore investment should improve engine availability and support timely helicopter deliveries as HAL scales up production of these helicopters, according to ICICI Securities. HAL's existing order backlog includes 25 Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH), 12 Light Utility Helicopters (LUH) and 156 Prachand Light Combat helicopters (LCH), apart from the 10 Dhruv NG helicopters ordered by Pawan Hans. The Ministry of Defence's ₹62,700-crore contracts for 156 Prachand helicopters — 66 for the Indian Air Force and 90 for the Army are expected to drive substantial additional capacity requirements. The company is also increasing manufacturing capacity across LCA, HTT-40 and LCH, with ₹12,000 crore planned investment in manufacturing infrastructure by 2030, providing a broader capacity-led growth opportunity.
HAL CMD Ravi Kota expressed confidence in delivering the Tejas Mk1A aircraft this year following the completion of the Tejas Mk1 trainer aircraft contract on September 18, 2026, as reported by Business Standard. Tejas Mk1A represents 43% of HAL's order book and serves as a key re-rating trigger for the stock. The company received 10 engines for the aircraft from GE, with analysts at Jefferies noting that there is confidence in delivering 10 aircraft this year, which compares favourably to their assumption of 5 aircraft. The brokerage firm highlighted that HAL's stock has de-rated given delays on Tejas Mk1A since CY24 and raised investor concerns on the company's execution ability, but believes that the Indian Air Force accepting delivery of even one aircraft will give confidence in the company's abilities and be a key upside driver. Jefferies maintains a 'Buy' rating on HAL with a target price of ₹6,800 per share.
Honeywell Aerospace is accelerating engine deliveries to HAL, potentially removing a key bottleneck that delayed production of the Indian Air Force's HTT-40 trainer aircraft. The US aerospace company will deliver eight engines to HAL by the end of calendar 2026, including the four already supplied, and another eight by mid-2027, taking its total direct deliveries to 16 engines, according to Mint. Honeywell was originally supposed to deliver its first engine in September 2025, but supply-chain problems pushed back deliveries, contributing to HAL missing its target to deliver 12 HTT-40 aircraft in fiscal 2025-26. The TPE331-12B turboprop engines power the HTT-40, a basic trainer aircraft designed for the IAF's initial pilot-training stage, with HAL having manufacturing facilities in Bengaluru and Nashik and capacity to produce about 20 aircraft annually once the supply chain is stabilised. After supplying the initial 16 engines, Honeywell is expected to support HAL in moving towards local assembly, with the company working on technology transfer details and timelines.
