AERONAUTICAL DEVELOPMENT AGENCY

The ADA, an autonomous organisation under the Indian Ministry of Defence, was created in 1984 to be responsible for design and development of the next-generation Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), which made its maiden flight in early 2001; its manufacturing partner is Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL). Several laboratories of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) have also contributed to the LCA programme, initial production of which was approved in 2002. Also participating in Multirole Transport Aircraft (MTA), an international programme in the form of the Ilyushin/Irkut/HAL Il-214.