HAL Advanced Light Helicopter Dhruv

[s_bman]

India signs pact for supply of Advanced Light Helicopter 'Dhruv' to Mauritius

http://www.zeenews.com/nation/2009-03-02/511692news.html

New Delhi, March 01: India has signed a pact with Mauritius for supply of a 'Dhruv' Advanced Light Helicopter built by state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.

Mauritius will be the second country after Equador to get the multi-role, multi-mission new generation helicopter. The helicopter is likely to be handed over this month to Mauritius for use by its police, officials said here.

The state-of-the-art helicopter is being supplied under an inter-governmental MoU concluded last week. The chopper, which costs around seven million USD, is being supplied under a 100 million USD line of credit extended by India to Mauritius over three years ago, they said.

Equador became the first country to acquire Dhruv helicopters last month when it signed a contract for seven choppers for its Air Force.

The armed version of Dhruv can be fitted with rockets and a 20 mm gun. Dhruv also has a variant which is equipped with 'fire and forget' air-to-air missiles and 70 mm rockets that can be fired in direct and indirect mode.

Dhruv won the Equadorian contract, outperforming rival machines from global majors like Eurocopter, mainly due to its lower price tag.

Equador already got five helicopters and the remaining two will be handed over in six months.

To ensure that Equador has no problem in maintaining the Dhruv fleet, HAL is posting a team of engineers in that country for a warranty period of two years.

Carrying all necessary tools required for maintenance, the team of engineers will train the Equadorian Air Force to maintain the choppers in future.

More Latin American countries are considering to buy Dhruv choppers and these include Columbia and Chile.

 

[A.V.]

this is a very good development the dhruv is soon building up a reputation and
finally we have got an ace up our sleeve in the export sector.
i:idhitit:

 

[s_bman]

this indeed is great news....but no of dhruv ordered is not mentioned:drink:

 

[rock45]

South America

This is good news and always felt that South America is an untapped market I wonder if India could expand operations in this region.

Peru uses Fulcrums and Hip's maybe some service contracts could be won?

 

[nitesh]

This is good news and always felt that South America is an untapped market I wonder if India could expand operations in this region.

Peru uses Fulcrums and Hip's maybe some service contracts could be won?

These are good news indeed but future orders will depend upon how good the serviceability of the product is. It's life cycle cost and all otherwise it will be difficult.

Regarding Fulcrums I think they will take support from Russia only

 

[nitesh]

this indeed is great news....but no of dhruv ordered is not mentioned:drink:

A single dhruv

 

[LETHALFORCE]

there was also a lot of interest from a few south american countries in the Brahmos, I believe Chile was one.

 

[screwterrorists]

Its not much, but its something.
Hope to see more in the future!

 

[Rage]

A single dhruv

Are you sure about that Nitesh? Could we have a source to corroborate the same, please and thank you?
The article says the Dhruv will be supplied under a $100 million Line of Credit. Under the contract to supply Ecuador with the Dhruv, the unit cost of the chopper was $7 million: a total of 7 Dhruvs being supplied under the $50 million contract (See: HAL's Dhruv helicopters ready for Ecuador). Assuming the unit price has not changed, I would estimate the contract to be for 14 Dhruvs (at a total cost of approx. $98 million) if indeed the contract is a standard, single-order contract.

Awaiting your confirmation,
Rage

 

[Rage]

These by the way are photographs of the HAL Dhruv supplied to Ecuador at the Aero India 2009, Bangalore, courtesy of Ajai Shukla.

 

[nitesh]

Are you sure about that Nitesh? Could we have a source to corroborate the same, please and thank you?
The article says the Dhruv will be supplied under a $100 million Line of Credit. Under the contract to supply Ecuador with the Dhruv, the unit cost of the chopper was $7 million: a total of 7 Dhruvs being supplied under the $50 million contract (See: HAL's Dhruv helicopters ready for Ecuador). Assuming the unit price has not changed, I would estimate the contract to be for 14 Dhruvs (at a total cost of approx. $98 million) if indeed the contract is a standard, single-order contract.

Awaiting your confirmation,
Rage

my logic is in this line

The helicopter is likely to be handed over this month to Mauritius for use by its police, officials said here.
from:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...copters-to-Mauritius-/articleshow/4208514.cms

Obviously more could follow but as of now 1

 

[Rage]

my logic is in this line:

The helicopter is likely to be handed over this month to Mauritius for use by its police, officials said here.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/I...ow/4208514.cms

Obviously more could follow but as of now 1.

Mate, I think what the singular "helicopter" is referring to in this case is the "HAL Dhruv", as a singular type/class of Advanced Light Helicopter being developed by India, and not specifically at how many units of "the helicopter" will be delivered to Mauritius. If it were not, the mention of a $100 million Line of Credit would be redundant, since the Dhruv costs significantly less ($7 million) a piece. Also, the title wouldn't mention "choppers/helicopters" in the plural. A case of understandable misconstruction I believe....

 

[nitesh]

Well I told my logic for supply of the helicopter in one month as the deal size is not written so I am little bit taking back in giving the numbers

 

[Rage]

In further news...

Suriname buys defence helicopters from India

Published on Thursday, February 12, 2009

By Ivan Cairo
Caribbean Net News Suriname Correspondent
Email: [email protected]

PARAMARIBO, Suriname; The Suriname government is buying three helicopters from India for its National Army, the Ministry of Defence here announced on Wednesday. Military sources indicate that the aircraft are mainly for transportation of army personnel, but if necessary they could also be used for combat activities.

Suriname defence minister
Ivan Fernald. AFP PHOTO


During budget debates in parliament in January, Defence Minister, Ivan Fernald, had announced the decision of the government to purchase the military equipment but was relecutant to disclose details since negotiations with India were not yet completed. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) will deliver the indigenously designed and developed advanced light helicopters (ALH) Dhruv.

The aircrafts will cost some 750 million rupees (US$15.3 million) and are being financed with a credit line from the Indian government. According to the Ministry of Defence, the aircraft are necessary since the Surinamese National Army currently is being furnished adequately in order to fully execute its constitutional tasks.

“With its presence at the national borders the army is executing its preventive duty,” said the ministry.

Currently, Defence Minister Fernald accompanied by his permanent secretary Dennis Kamperveen and lieutenant-colonel Jerry Slijngaard, head of the National Coordination Center for Disaster Management (NCCR) is in India to sign the contracts. The officials will also attend the seventh edition of the international air show, Aero India 2009, which opened Thursday, February 11, in Bangalore and hold talks to advance the defence relations between Suriname and India. Minister Fernald and his Indian counterpart Arackaparambil Kurian Antony will also engage in bilateral talks.

During the 80s and early 90s, the Suriname air force had a considerable number of helicopters and other aircraft but, due to losses during the internal armed conflict in the late 80s and poor maintenance, the fleet deteriorated.


http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/news/_files/Image/april24/ivanfernald2.jpg

 

[Triton]

Good news; we need to get more orders; we need to market it vigorously

 

[ZOOM]

From how many countries we so far secured orders for Dhurv? and How many Dhurv are there to be exported?

 

[ZOOM]

I think Indian Government's approch of providing Line of Credit is good one since most of the countries can't afford such machines during such recessionery times, no matter how cheap our Dhurv is. ;

 

[screwterrorists]

India signs pact for supply of Advanced Light Helicopter 'Dhruv' to Mauritius

http://www.zeenews.com/nation/2009-03-02/511692news.html

New Delhi, March 01: India has signed a pact with Mauritius for supply of a 'Dhruv' Advanced Light Helicopter built by state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.

this is what i would use to justify one helicopter. you cant have that referring to class.

 

[shiv]

ok so now the dhruv has been sold to ecuador,israel,nepal,bhutan and many under trial in SAmerica->this bird has already started paying off--->how much was its development cost?

 

[EnlightenedMonk]

MEA shoots down defence ministry's helicopter export

MEA shoots down defence ministry's helicopter export

The prospects for India’s most promising defence export — the Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) — have just been dealt an unexpected blow. India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has turned down a Bolivian request for a line of credit to buy seven Dhruvs from Bangalore-based manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

Senior officials in India’s Ministry of Defence (MoD) are livid. India’s defence exports languish at about Rs 300-400 crore per year, barely 1 per cent of the Rs 30,000 crore spent annually on importing weaponry. The export of seven Dhruvs, each worth Rs 44 crore, would have effectively doubled defence exports.

MoD sources said the MEA turned down Bolivia’s request for a line of credit on the grounds that it was for military equipment. The MEA has not responded to an emailed questionnaire from Business Standard on the subject.

Dhruv ALHs, in fact, have civilian as well as military uses. Of five Dhruvs delivered to Ecuador this year, one was kitted out as a VIP transport for the Ecuadorian president. India has also supplied Dhruvs to Nepal and to Mauritius on easy credit, even as gifts.

Says a senior MoD official, “Frankly speaking, I was surprised by the MEA’s decision. I can only surmise that this decision was taken by someone at the lower level, without realising the implications on India’s defence exports.”

Bolivia barely registers on the MEA’s radar. That country does not have an embassy in New Delhi; an Honorary Consul represents India in La Paz, Bolivia’s capital.

But for the MoD, the sale of Dhruvs to Bolivia would be a vital step in cracking America’s domination of the South American helicopter market, which HAL was targeting aggressively. As more Dhruv ALHs flew in South American skies, HAL planned to set up major support infrastructure to pull in even more customers.

Five years ago, with the Chilean Air Force poised to buy the cheap and rugged Dhruv, Washington’s pressure allegedly forced Santiago to opt for US-made Bell helicopters. HAL bounced back by selling Ecuador five Dhruvs in 2008; Ecuador is reportedly considering a follow-up order. Chile, too, continues to watch with interest.

HAL’s Chairman and Managing Director, Ashok Nayak, refuses to talk about the MEA’s decision, but points out that HAL’s growing presence in South America will inevitably bring in more customers from that region.

Nayak explains, “We have already delivered the five Dhruv helicopters ordered by Ecuador. Our pilots are training the Ecuadorian Air Force; we have posted 15 HAL maintenance personnel in Ecuador for backup support, along with a substantial inventory of spares. We are steadily gaining experience in supporting the operations of Dhruv ALHs in South America. That is bound to pay off soon.

Helicopters are a vital part of the Bolivian Air Force, since anti-drug operations are its main focus. Without a single fixed-wing fighter aircraft, the Bolivian Air Force currently relies on the venerable American UH-1H Huey helicopter, which is approaching the end of its service life. With the Dhruv providing a state-of-the-art alternative at a price 25 per cent cheaper than its alternatives, Bolivia remains a potential buyer.

MEA shoots down defence ministry's helicopter export