Government-owned engineering and manufacturing enterprise Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has secured an order to supply Cornpact Heat Exchanger sets for 83 light combat Tejas MK1A aircraft from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) at an undisclosed amount. This order involves manufacturing, assembly, testing and supply of compact heat exchangers to be fitted in the LCA Tejas aircraft. BHEL-HPVP and Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA) Bangalore have jointly designed and developed 13 different types of compact heat exchangers for environmental control system (ECS) and secondary power system (SPS) of LCA MK-1 programme. So how does BHEL-HPVP work? For the unversed, BHEL’s Heavy Plates and Vessels Plant (HPVP) in Vishakhapatnam is the only supplier of heat exchangers for LCA Tejas to HAL since 1996. BHEL-HPVP has a dedicated, intricate manufacturing and inspection facilities for manufacturing of state-of-the-art Compact Heat Exchangers for different types of aircrafts manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics. BHEL is also ready to meet requirements of the future programs of LCA, ALH, Sukhoi and AMCA, as per BHEL’s release. BHEL is also working with DRDO for the development of Air Cycle Machine based Liquid Cooling System (LCS) for Aircraft POD application for LCA Mk-2. “Significantly, the company has already established specialized manufacturing facilities and capabilities aimed at making a major contribution towards self-reliance in the production of defence equipment. These initiatives of BHEL will be a driving force towards the AatmaNirbhar Bharat Abhiyan of Government of India,” BHEL further mentioned in its release.