HAL Advanced Light Helicopter Dhruv

[sayareakd]

which one? lol

one who has got curves..........

 

[Bhadra]

which one? lol

I too wonder the same. How many times will this photo be repeated?

 

[praneetbajpaie]

one who has got curves..........

well both do

 

[Bhadra]

ALH Dhruv: Navy's Arjun tank?


Should the title have ended with a question mark or a full stop? In choosing the former, I have left it to my readers to answer the question placed.

Though much has been made of the Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Dhruv's 'incompleteness' vis a vis the needs of the Indian Army and Indian Air Force (IAF) on several grounds, very little has been explored into the Indian Navy's (IN) tryst with the chopper.


Early days: Dhruv on board a Navy ship; Image courtesy: bharat-rakshak.com

The beginning

The IN today flies 08 Dhruvs and that too is strictly shore-based flying. Those in the know say the Dhruv of today is a severely de-weaponised bird, used essentially for Search And Rescue (SAR) missions. Contrast that with the Navy's initial interest in the Dhruv taking over the Anti Submarine Warfare (ASW) role, presumably from the ageing Seakings, and one wonders what went wrong. Not just that, one learns that Dhruv was also considered very seriously for ship-based flying, which is indeed a very complex role and only given to proven platforms. This would have also meant bulk orders for Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) from the Navy. Obviously, none of this happened. Worse, there seems little in the future to hope for things to turn around.

Drawbacks

Former Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) Admiral (Retd) Arun Prakash, while speaking to the author said that the Dhruv failed on several of QRs (Qualitative Requirements) that were laid down by the Navy. "The biggest drawback was that because on board inside a ship's hangar, the space is very limited, we wanted the chopper to have hydraulic folder rotor blades. It would not only make the chopper fit in well but the hydraulic system would also make the entire task much easier and quicker," he added. The HAL, he said, could not deliver on that.

There is more.

For ASW role, naturally, the aircraft needs to be weaponised. So when the Navy sat down to test the Dhruv armed with torpedos and other systems, it hit upon yet another roadblock. "Endurance was the single biggest concern. Our requirements stipulated that once armed, the chopper should do 2-3hrs on-task flying. Dhruv lasted not beyond an hour," said an officer involved with the process. Once weaponised, the weight of the Dhruv seemed to be too much to take for a ship, thus the chopper was faced with outright rejection as far as the men in white were concerned.

Adm. Arun Prakash put it bluntly. "Unless the HAL makes a Mach II chopper, which has to have a better and more powerful engine, the Dhruv won't interest the Navy," he said. A senior officer, at the decision-making level too confirmed the situation. "We are not looking at the Dhruv, we gave the aircraft enough chances," he said. It is a sorry moment for Dhruv, especially at a time when we are slated to become world's largest arms bazaar, and unfortunately, the largest importers of it as well.

2010 CAG report on Naval version of Dhruv

The navy required the integration of Tactical Missile System (TMS) and the Anti Submarine Warfare (ASW) into the ALH. For that, the Navy released Rs. 139.92 cr. However, in September 2006, it was decided to not accept ALH in ASW role. Despite this decision, the project was allowed to continue and Rs 138 cr was spent till September 2009.

Coast Guard and the Dhruv

Observers say that it was the Indian Coast Guard, which was the first force under the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to have ordered and inducted the Dhruv. But that kind of enthusiasm is nowhere present in the Coast Guard today. The author encountered a similar reasoning while discussing the role of ALH in the force as was with the navy. A senior serving officer of the Coast Guard said, "Post-26/11, our requirement for surveillance-oriented halos has gone up. And we are examining a number of options but Dhruv does not fit in there." HAL has just not been able to make the required modifications in the wingspan systems of the chopper, he added. Similar noises.

Vice Adm. Anil Chopra, the present Director General of the Indian Coast Guard had once remarked that based on government's present outlook and funding, CG will double its strength in the next five years and will almost triple its present inventory by the end of a decade from now. It only goes to show that the Dhruv has really missed the bus and in a colossal way at that.

Coast Guard used to fly 04 Dhruvs from INS Hansa, Goa. Presently, they have moved 03 them to Porbandar and gifted 01 to Maldives.

 

[Bhadra]

Continue reading:
ALH Dhruv: Navy’s Arjun tank? « Thoughtso's Weblog

 

[Bhadra]

Continue reading:
ALH Dhruv: Navy's Arjun tank? � Thoughtso's Weblog

 

[Twinblade]

Continue reading:
ALH Dhruv: Navy's Arjun tank? � Thoughtso's Weblog

The year 2004 called. They want you back.

 

[Bhadra]

The year 2004 called. They want you back.

Old but good article with No progress on shortcoming listed.

You can count on each and every one !

 

[Kunal Biswas]

Old but good article with No progress on shortcoming listed.

You can count on each and every one !

Bhardra Ji, you dont read the article yourself,

1. It talks about not availability of Shakti Engines which are now on Dhruvs..

2. They talk about Navy variant is not upto the task coz IN was looking for bigger helo..

3. Same for Coast guard demands are now for bigger helo..

Rest is outdated data of 2004, We are in 2012 with Dhruv as a prime Helo for Army aviation, They also in Navy and Air-force..

 

[Bhadra]

Bhardra Ji, you dont read the article yourself,

1. It talks about not availability of Shakti Engines which are now on Dhruvs..

2. They talk about Navy variant is not upto the task coz IN was looking for bigger helo..

3. Same for Coast guard demands are now for bigger helo..

Rest is outdated data of 2004, We are in 2012 with Dhruv as a prime Helo for Army aviation, They also in Navy and Air-force..

I read and read carefully.
List out the shortcoming enumerated in the article and how those have been overcome / rectified.
Fight with the massage and not the massager.

 

[Kunal Biswas]

I read and read carefully.List out the shortcoming enumerated in the article and how those have been overcome / rectified.
Fight with the massage and not the massager.

I have done the both in my post..

Still you can shoot question and will try to answer with details..

 

[Virendra]

The Hindu : News / National : Our activities are at full throttle, says HAL Chairman

ALH's bomb-capable variant for the Army is to be called Rudra, after the Hindu mythological lord of annihilation.
Mr. Tyagi said Rudra or Dhruv Mk-4 was in the last lap of certification and its first delivery was likely this year.
Two prototypes of the LCH (talking about Mk-III and Mk-IV) were undergoing trials and an improved third one would follow. The LUH would have a high level of indigenous content.

Initial Operational Clearance (IOC) for Rudra is expected by late 2012 with deliveries of the production helicopters starting on or before 2013.
As per the initial orders, close to 70 Rudras are to be supplied to Indian armed forces.
"It has comfortably-exceeded the payload and performance requirements at 6 km height. It has integrated sensors, weapons and electronic warfare suite using an upgraded version of the glass cockpit used in the Mk-III.
The cockpit avionics is a state-of-the-art technology when it comes to helicopters. The sensors include stabilised day and night cameras, Infra-Red imaging, as well as laser ranging and designation," sources said.

Rudra is equipped with Forward Looking Infra Red and Thermal Imaging Sights Interface, a 20 mm turret gun, 70 mm rocket pods, Anti-tank guided missiles and Air-to-Air Missiles.
Rudra can carry self defence systems including radar & missile detectors, IR jammer, chaff & flare dispensers.

Regards,
Virendra

 

[Kesang]

I always wanted to know about armour of LCH. Armour of LCH as good as apache?

 

[Virendra]

Good we now have Choppers specialised in high altitude warfare. Shouldn't we look for Fighter planes with same specialisation?
The way I see it, most of the warfare would be in mountain ranges, high up plateaus and glaciers.

 

[Kunal Biswas]

LCA, MKI, MRCA fighters,so does MIG-29/Mirage can operate in those altitude and can operate..

 

[sathya]

ALH Mk-IV " Rudra " completes Development test , First Production ALH Mk-IV Ready

Hindustan Aeronautics limited (HAL) in its latest in house publication has informed that first production ALH Mk-IV , which Indian army has named " Rudra " has completed ground tests but didn't provide any information if the first flight has taken place .

ALH Mk-IV is Equipped with a turret gun, rockets, and various air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles, such as the anti-tank Helina missile . ALH Mk-IV successfully completed all weapons test successfully year ago and entered into production recently .

HAL has received combined orders of 76 ALH Mk-IV from Indian army and Indian air force and major chunk of it going to Indian army Aviation fleet , ALH Mk-IV and LCH (Light Combat Helicopter) will be sharing same weapons platforms and avionics .

 

[EzioAltaïr]

I always wanted to know about armour of LCH. Armour of LCH as good as apache?

Don't think that it is very thick. After all, it is the Light Combat Helicopter.

 

[Kunal Biswas]

LCH can take 12.7mm cant say it can endure 23mm or more..

 

[Defcon 1]

ALH Mk-IV " Rudra " completes Development test , First Production ALH Mk-IV Ready

Hindustan Aeronautics limited (HAL) in its latest in house publication has informed that first production ALH Mk-IV , which Indian army has named " Rudra " has completed ground tests but didn't provide any information if the first flight has taken place .

ALH Mk-IV is Equipped with a turret gun, rockets, and various air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles, such as the anti-tank Helina missile . ALH Mk-IV successfully completed all weapons test successfully year ago and entered into production recently .

HAL has received combined orders of 76 ALH Mk-IV from Indian army and Indian air force and major chunk of it going to Indian army Aviation fleet , ALH Mk-IV and LCH (Light Combat Helicopter) will be sharing same weapons platforms and avionics .

This is odd. I have already seen pics of flying Rudra on tarmak. They even have pics of HELINA being tested from a helo which seems like ALH. How can there still be doubt about first flight of Rudra?

 

[Sridhar]

This is odd. I have already seen pics of flying Rudra on tarmak. They even have pics of HELINA being tested from a helo which seems like ALH. How can there still be doubt about first flight of Rudra?

ALH Mk-IV successfully completed all weapons test successfully year ago and entered into production recently .

They are doubtful about the production machine's flight not the developmental test flights.Bur they are sure about Ground tests of the same.
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