Ministry approves extension of Additional Charge for Dr. D K Sunil, CMD of HAL, as Director (Engineering and R&D)
Defence Ministry approves extension for Dr. D K Sunil as HAL's Additional Charge of Director (Engineering & R&D); he also continues as CMD and Director (HR), managing three key roles.
New Delhi: Hindustan Aeronautics Limited today announced that the Defence Ministry approved the extension of Dr. D K Sunil for the post of Additional Charge of Director (Engg and R&D). Currently, he is handling three charges in the company, Chairman & Managing Director, Additional Charge of Director (Engg and R&D) and Director (HR).
The Ministry conveyed through its letter dated March 3, 2025, the approval by Hon’ble Raksha Mantri for the interim arrangement of entrusting additional charge for the post of Director (Engineering and R&D) to Dr. D K Sunil, Chairman & Managing Director of the Company, for a further period of one-month w.e.f 09.03.2025 and up to 08.04.2025 or till the appointment of a regular incumbent or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
Dr. Sunil has held the post of Director (Engineering and R&D) of the Company since 29th September 2022.
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About Dr. D K Sunil
Dr. Sunil joined Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in 1987 as a Management Trainee, and has about 37 years of experience in varied roles in the company contributing significantly to Design, production, quality enhancement, and customer support issues.
Under his leadership, new technologies were developed like High Power Radar Power Supply, Voice Activated Control System, Combined Interrogator Transponder which has become new growth areas for the Company. A trailblazer in collaborations, Dr. Sunil pioneered partnerships with institutions like IIT Kanpur for datalinks and IIIT Hyderabad for voice recognition technologies. His visionary approach strengthened HAL’s position in cutting-edge technologies.
During his tenure in Mission Combat Systems R&D Centre in Bengaluru, he led teams focused on ground breaking projects such as Active ESA Radar, Automatic Flight Control System for Light Combat Helicopter (LCH), and Mission Computers for helicopter and fighter platforms.
His extensive design expertise spans from the equipment level to system-level projects for both aircraft and helicopters, covering the entire spectrum of design activities at HAL’s design centers.
Dr Sunil has shared his knowledge with the wider community through the publication of seven papers in peer-reviewed journals, and his innovations in wireless communication are protected by nine copyrights. Dr Sunil has a patent to his credit for Robust Variance Based Squelch for Airborne V/UHF radio in RF interference Dominated Environment, which was received in Mar 2024.
Acknowledged for his expertise, he was nominated to be a member of the DGCA External Expert Committee for the certification of the Hindustan-Dornier 228 Aircraft.
Under the dynamic leadership of Dr. D. K. Sunil, as Director (Engineering and R&D), the Company witnessed a series of remarkable achievements and advancements. Notably, under his strategic guidance, HAL successfully obtained release of military certification to the HTT 40 aircraft program, secured pivotal projects such as the Indigenous Multi-Role Helicopter (IMRH) for the Indian Air Force (IAF) and Army, as well as the Utility Helicopter Maritime (UHM) for the Indian Navy.
Dr. Sunil was entrusted with additional charge of Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of the Company from 1st September, 2024. In accordance with the Letter No. F.No 49013/03/2021-D(HAL-III) dated 9th September, 2024, he has assumed the charge of Chairman & Managing Director w.e.f. 9th September, 2024.
Dr. Sunil is also holding additional charge of Director (Engg and R&D) w.e.f. 9th September, 2024 and of Director (HR) w.e.f. 1st March, 2025. He was holding additional charge of Director (Operations) from 1st September, 2024 to 26th November, 2024.
He is Nominee Director in Multi-Role Transport Aircraft Ltd., Aerospace and Aviation Sector Skill Council (Section 8 Company) and Defence Innovation Organization (Section 8 Company).
He is not related to any other director of the Company and does not hold shares in the Company.
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