HAL signs agreement with SIKA Aerospace
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with SIKA Aerospace
The agreement was signed by Nikhil Dwivedi, General Manager of HAL’s Helicopter Division, and Kunal Sikka, Managing Director and CEO of SIKA Interplant Systems Limited at Bangalore, at the Aero India 2023 conference on 14 February.
Under the agreement, the two companies will ‘pursue strategic business cooperation’ in the fields of aerial search and rescue (SAR), medical evacuation (medevac) and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) sectors.
The MoU would aim to combine the two companies’ existing strengths. HAL would focus on the manufacture integration and upgrading of rotorcraft platforms, while SIKA would supply its expertise in the supply and integration of SAR, medevac and HADR equipment.
The partnership would support the manufacture and equipping of specialized rotorcraft configurations, in line with the Indian government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative.
HAL also signed a separate MoU agreement with emergency medical provider Response Plus Holding at the same conference, outlining plans to explore opportunities for cooperation in the medevac and helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) sectors.
Oliver Cuenca
Oliver Cuenca is a Junior Editor at AirMed&Rescue. He was previously a News and Features Journalist for the rail magazine IRJ until 2021, and studied MA Magazine Journalism at Cardiff University. His favourite helicopter is the AW169 – the workhorse of the UK air ambulance sector! He also led the creation of Waypoint: The AirMed&Rescue podcast, serving as its Production Editor and co-host.