Final assembly of fighters, helicopters and transport aircraft for the forces.
Assembles airframes, installs engines and systems, flight-tests and hands over aircraft and helicopters, then repairs and overhauls them for decades. HAL is the default production agency; Tata Advanced Systems now runs India's first private aircraft final-assembly line (C-295).
Aircraft are the largest approvals: 114 Rafale fighters (MRFA) on 12 Feb 2026 (about 90 to be made in India), Advanced Light Helicopters on 7 Sep 2026, and earlier contracts for 97 Tejas Mk1A and 156 Prachand helicopters. HAL's order book reached ₹2.54L Cr (31 Mar 2026), about 7-8 years of revenue.
The biggest pool in Indian defence by value, with long tails from repair and overhaul (about a third of HAL's revenue). Margins are healthy because HAL is effectively the sole Indian integrator, but delivery pace - not orders - limits growth.