Dr D.K. Sunil, Director (Engineering, Research and Development) has taken over as Chairman and Managing Director (Additional Charge) of HAL from C.B. Ananthakrishnan, effective from September 1, 2024.

Dr Sunil joined 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.

Under his leadership, new technologies were developed like Radar Power supply, Voice Activated Control System, Combined Interrogator Transponder which have become new growth areas for the company. A trailblazer in collaborations, Dr Sunil was instrumental in forging 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.

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 and Army as well as the Utility Helicopter Maritime (UHM) for the Indian Navy.

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 and holds one Patent.