Israel has decided to ground the fleet of ALHs it inducted to ferry VIPs and defence officials, barely weeks after the Indian armed forces did the same following a crash.
Even after 10 years of its production, the indigenous Advanced Light Helicopter Dhruv still depends heavily on imports as most of its components are procured from foreign sources, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has said.
State-run defence major Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has delivered LCA Tejas Final Operational Clearance twin-seater trainers and HTT-40 basic trainer aircraft to the Indian Air Force, along with Dhruv next-generation helicopters to Pawan Hans. This significant handover, witnessed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, marks a crucial step in India's journey towards self-reliance in the aerospace sector, showcasing HAL's diverse capabilities in military, civil, and training aviation.
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has delivered LCA Tejas FOC twin-seater trainers and HTT-40 basic trainer aircraft to the Indian Air Force, and Dhruv next-generation helicopters to Pawan Hans. This significant handover, witnessed by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, marks a crucial step in India's journey towards self-reliance in the aerospace sector, showcasing HAL's capabilities across military, civil rotary-wing, and pilot training aviation.
The Light Utility Helicopter, which Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd is designing for the Indian military, has encountered turbulence even before leaving the drawing board. French engine-maker Turbomeca, whose vaunted Shakti engine was to power the LuH, is demanding what Ministry of Defence sources term 'extortionist prices' for integrating the Shakti with the LuH.
State-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has delivered LCA Tejas FOC twin-seater trainers and HTT-40 basic trainer aircraft to the Indian Air Force, and Dhruv Next Generation helicopters to Pawan Hans. This significant handover, attended by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu, underscores India's progress towards self-reliance in aerospace, strengthening both military and civil aviation capabilities with indigenous platforms.
It was a brutal test of helicopter and pilot. As the Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopter shuddered towards the icy helipad on a 21,000-foot ledge overlooking the Siachen Glacier, the pilots could see wreckage from earlier helicopter crashes dotting the base of the vertical ice walls on either side.
With Aero India 2009 around the corner -- India's biggest-ever air expo, scheduled from February 11 to 15 -- HAL is readying to hand over, ahead of schedule, its first-ever export order won in a competitive contract, run last year by Ecuador for seven helicopters.
The advanced light helicopter, carrying Army personnel, was on regular sorties, he said. The incident took place at 10.43 am, and search operation is underway, the official said.
Three crew members were killed after a helicopter of the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) crashed and caught fire at an airport on the outskirts of Gujarat's Porbandar city, police said.
Seven Indian Air Force personnel, including two officers, were killed on Friday when an Advanced Light Helicopter Dhruv helicopter in which they were flying from Bareilly to Allahabad crashed in Sitapur in Uttar Pradesh.
India is deploying cutting-edge technology to defeat a simple insurgent weapon that J&K militants and Naxals are using to lethal effect: the Improvised Explosive Device, or IED. Swedish company Saab has offered to partner India's Defence Research and Development Organisation in fitting Saab's CARABAS radar on India's Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH), which would allow the scanning of wide swathes of territory to detect IEDs well before they can be exploded.
The Navy and the Coast Guard had grounded their respective ALH Dhruv fleets in March following two similar incidents involving the platform.
India showcased its frontline military assets, including Brahmos and Akash missiles, at the Republic Day parade. The event also celebrated Operation Sindoor and featured a new 'Battle Array Format' for the Indian Army.
The indigenously designed and developed Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH-Dhruv) and the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas will not be part of the upcoming Republic Day flypast in India due to the grounding of the entire fleet of ALH-Dhruv helicopters following a crash earlier this month. The grounding of the helicopters is a result of a Coast Guard ALH crash in Porbandar, Gujarat on January 5, which claimed the lives of two pilots and an aircrew diver. The decision to exclude the ALH-Dhruv and Tejas from the flypast comes as a high-level probe panel investigates the cause of the crash.
The first batch of Advanced Light Helicopter 'Dhruv' Mk-III was on Wednesday inducted at the Indian Air Force station in Bareilly.
While the Army will be getting around 100 light utility helicopters, it is also looking at the option of taking choppers on lease to meet its requirement.
The light utility helicopter will replace the military's obsolescent fleet of Chetak and Cheetah helicopters that have flown for over three decades.
Four Army personnel were killed and one was reported missing after the twin-engine weapon system integrated (WSI) version of the indigenously-built helicopter went down at Migging village in Upper Siang district of the border state at 10.43 am on Friday.
The Prachand Light Combat Helicopter is a huge boost to the IAF's combat prowess.
In the wake of the accident off the Mumbai coast two days ago, the defence forces have halted the operations of the Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Dhruv till the time investigators find the reason for the incident and precautionary checks are carried out.
The chopper has been validated for high-altitude, low temperature flying, required to maintain the supply lines for the Siachen region
Dhruv qualified for high-altitude glacier flying with flying colours on February 15
In a big relief to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, pilot error was found to have caused the crash of the India-made Advance Light Helicopter 'Dhruv' in Ecuador in October, a probe conducted in the United States and India into the mishap has revealed. The crash, during a military parade on October 28 in the South American country, injuring two pilots, was considered a major setback to India's efforts to market its indigenous helicopters overseas.
"The chief minister's helicopter has been located atop a hill 40 nautical miles, 73 kilometres east of Kurnool" This was the message everyone was waiting for since Wednesday when Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy's chopper went off the radar.
Despite a disappointing Q4 FY26 performance, many analysts remain bullish on Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) due to its substantial order book and pipeline. However, persistent supply chain issues, particularly for jet engines, and execution challenges are key factors that could impact its future stock performance and revenue growth.
A large Dhruv order could significantly boost Indian defence exports. These have grown from Rs 1,940 crore in 2014-2015 to Rs 10,745 crore in 2018-2019.
In a major setback to India's efforts to market its indigenous helicopters in the overseas market, a Dhruv helicopter sold to the Ecuadorian Air Force on Wednesday crashed in Quito during a military parade, leaving two of the pilots injured.
Dhruv is a multi-role, multi-mission new generation helicopter in the 5.5 tone weight class. It set a new world record by flying at an altitude of around 8,000 meters in the Himalayan mountain ridge.
Top sources in the air wing said that while two 'Dhruvs' are gathering dust at the Raipur airbase for the last two months as their spare parts are unavailable, the third is with the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, as it had clocked 500 flying hours after which it needs servicing.
The 5.8-tonne twin-engine gunship chopper is armed with air-to-air missiles, 20 mm turret guns, rocket systems and other weapons.
Four army personnel were killed in a Dhruv helicopter crash in north Sikkim near the Sino-India border, days after a Pawan Hans chopper went down in the northeast claiming 17 lives.
HAL is poised to sell the Philippines at least seven Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopters and eight Dornier 228 aircraft for Rs 30 billion, reports Ajai Shukla.
A Border Security Force helicopter with three persons on boards crashed on the outskirts of Ranchi on Wednesday.
Co-pilot Squadron Leader Priye Sharma (32) died when the Dhruv advanced light helicopter crashed near a runway.
An Advanced Light Helicopter of the Indian Army crashed in the mountains of north Kashmir in Bandipore district on Wednesday evening killing a Lieutenant Colonel and a Major, who were piloting the chopper.
The United States Customs plans to buy 10 indigenous advanced light helicopters Dhruv built by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, HAL sources said in Bangalore on Wednesday.
HAL helicopters will be equipped with an 'Obstacle Avoidance System' that warns pilots of any obstacles in their flight path.
The advanced light helicopter (ALH), carrying five Army personnel including two pilots, was on regular sorties when it crashed at 10.43 am on Friday near Migging, around 25 km south of Tuting, he said.
Around 100 artistes heralded the parade, on the theme 'Vividata Mein Ekta (Unity in Diversity) that featured a grand presentation of musical instruments, demonstrating the nation's unity and rich cultural diversity.
