HAL HJT-36 Yashas

what is it?

The HAL HJT-36 Yashas (lit. 'Glory') is a subsonic intermediate jet trainer aircraft designed and developed by Aircraft Research and Design Centre (ARDC) and built by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the Indian Air Force and the Indian Navy. The HJT-36 will replace the HAL HJT-16 Kiran as the Stage-2 trainer for the two forces. The jet, originally named Sitara, was designed as a conventional jet trainer with low swept wings, tandem cockpit and small air intakes for the engine on either side of its fuselage.

🔎How to recognise it: 2 jet engines · 10 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 750 km/htop speed
• range 1,000 kmwithout refuelling
• size 5,400 kgmax take-off weight
• built 16made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 23 years ago, in 2003.
• 🏎️Top speed is 5.8× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 10 m: about 2 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🌍Range of 1,000 km: 6× Amsterdam to Brussels.
• 🏔️Can fly 1.0× higher than Mount Everest (8,849 m).

jet: Gas turbine pushing air out the back (turbofan or turbojet): fast and high-flying.

spec sheet

first flight

2003-03-07

introduced

2026

number built

16

role

intermediate trainer

origin

🇮🇳 India

makers

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited

engines

2× SNECMA Larzac 04-H20 / NPO Saturn AL-55I

crew

2

length

11 m

wingspan

10 m

height

4.4 m

max take-off weight

5,400 kg

top speed

750 km/h

range

1,000 km

ceiling

9,000 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.