:: Bharat-Rakshak.com - Indian Military News Headlines ::
.
Price row prompts HAL to look
elsewhere for chopper engine
.
BANGALORE:
A dispute over fees
may hamper French firm
Turbomeca's chances of
participating in the development
of Shakti engines for Light Utility
Helicopter programme.
Turbomeca has asked for a
higher fee to fit the LUH, with
Shakti engine, jointly developed
with Bangalore-based Hindustan
Aeronautics Ltd (HAL),
prompting the state-owned
defence undertaking to look
elsewhere."We have been in
dialogue with other engine
manufacturers," P Soundara
Rajan, managing director of
HAL's helicopter complex, told
The Economic Times in an
interview.
The LUH, which will have both
civil and military variants, will
replace the obsolete Chetak and
Cheetah helicopter fleets of the
forces. The Shakti engine
currently powers the Dhruv
Advanced Light Helicopter-Mark-
III as well as HAL's Light Combat
Helicopter.
However, the
Shakti has a twin-
engine configuration, and HAL
has been re-evaluating its
options in converting it to a
singleengine platform on which
the LUH is based. "We will have
to take a call shortly on whether
the twin-engine platform will be
a good fit. This should be done
by the end of the year. There
are design and qualification
changes that have to be worked
out," Soundara Rajan said.
The country's largest aeronautics
company will also have to
consider certification issues, such
as the changes in the gearbox
design, in order to incorporate
the Shakti engine into the single-
engine LUH, he said."There are
a number of costs involved, plus
efforts in design, engineering,
qualification and certification.
One has to look at economic
viability. These are techno-
commercial decisions that have
to be taken," the helicopter
complex managing director said.
It is yet unclear whether the
French manufacturer has drawn
up a fresh proposal for the
programme. In response to an
email questionnaire sent by ET,
Turbomeca said the Shakti
engine would be"well-suited to
meet the propulsion
requirements of the LUH
programme".
"Therefore, the possibility of its
installation on this aircraft is
under discussions between HAL
and Turbomeca," an email from
the company said. Soundara
Rajan has also confirmed that
HAL-Turbomeca joint venture
was not under evaluation.
However, companies such as
Honeywell and Rolls-Royce are
believed to be in talks with the
state-owned defence
undertaking. General Electric and
Honeywell did not respond to
emails sent by ET.
In an email statement, Prat &
Whitney spokesperson said:
"Prat
& Whitney is not in discussion
with HAL for engines on the
LUH". In a statement, Rolls-
Royce declined to comment on
specifics.
"Rolls-Royce has class-leading
helicopter engines that are
wellmatched to LUH
requirements. An opportunity to
power the platform, in
collaboration with Indian
partners, is of high potential
interest and such collaboration
would draw upon our over 200
million flight hours of helicopter
engine experience and decades
of working in partnership with
Indian industry, to serve the
needs of the Indian military.
However Rolls-Royce does not
comment on specific on-going
campaigns," it added.
Discord between partners in the
defence industry is nothing new.
In 2002, HAL entered into a joint
venture with a Russian
consortium that included
aerospace giants Irkut Aviation,
Ilyushin Aviation Complex and
Rosoboronexport, to develop a
multi-role transport aircraft for
India and Russia, only for Irkut
to pull out six years later. The
project got back on track only in
late-2009.
The Cassidian-Larsen & Toubro
JV also ran into trouble after
government regulator, the
Foreign Investment Promotion
Board, rejected their earlier
proposed equity structure. The
three-tonne LUH has been
designated as one of HAL's
future flagship products.
