Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, the country’s sole military aircraft manufacturer, is set to unveil a Rs. 6,000-crore modernisation programme with a focus on manufacturing unmanned aerial vehicles for surveillance and combat purposes, the company said on Tuesday.

The modernisation plan spreads out through 2020; HAL will use Rs. 1,200 crore during the current year (2014-15) alone, its Chairman, R.K. Tyagi, told The Hindu.

Much of the expenditure would go into upgrading facilities, plant and CNC and other machinery. The globally trending 3D printing facility would also be part of the programme for designing novel concepts.

The Armed Forces Long-term Integrated Perspective Plan (LTIPP) lasting through 2027 would drive HAL’s technology platform.

“We have redefined our business growth road map through 2020 and aligned it with the LTIPP. With all this, we are preparing the company for the challenges related to manufacturing the FGFA [fifth generation fighter aircraft] and the MMRCA [medium multirole combat aircraft.] By then we would also be aiming to double the production capacity of the [homegrown] LCA [light combat aircraft] from eight to 16 a year,” Dr. Tyagi said.

The upgrade programme across key centres would aim to meet four priorities: unmanned air vehicles and unmanned combat air vehicles (UAVs and UCAVs); aero engines; defence technologies management and the development of the first Indian passenger plane.