HAL HF-73

The HAL HF-73, also called the Hindustan Fighter-73, was a proposed twin-engined strike fighter for the Indian Air Force. It grew out of a joint venture formed in 1972 between Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and the West German firm Messerschmitt-Bölkow-Blohm, after earlier ground attack studies and a Marut Mark 2 improvement effort failed to win approval. The design resembled the Panavia Tornado in role and intake layout but kept a fixed wing, and it was planned around Turbo-Union RB199 afterburning turbofans. India could not arrange to produce that engine, the project was cancelled in the late 1970s, and the SEPECAT Jaguar was bought to meet the deep penetration strike requirement instead.