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.
Admiral Puri says it would be wasteful to buy a foreign helicopter, pay for transfer of technology, and develop manufacturing capability in an Indian private sector strategic partner when all this already exists with HAL.
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.
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.
Glimpses from Day 1 at Aero India 2025 at the Yelahanka air base in Bengaluru, India, February 10, 2025.
The Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd is pushing for exports of its flagship helicopter Dhruv to Chile with an aim to make an entry into the South American market.
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.
Dhruv and LUH helicopters must supply provisions to, and evacuate casualties from Siachen Glacier posts like Sonam, which, at 20,997 feet, is the highest inhabited spot on the planet.
The LUH will be one of the two helicopters that will meet the army's urgent need for 394 light helicopters.
Ecuador had put the Indian choppers on "restricted" ops following a spate of accidents
The four-day event, which will conclude on March 11, saw many foreign aircraft companies display their flying machines. Rediff.com's Venkata Sathish gives a preview.
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.
With no payments coming in, HAL for the first time ever taken a bank loan of Rs 7.81 billion.
The LCH can provide our soldiers fire support in 15,000-16,000 feet-high contested areas like Depsang, Galwan and the heights north and south of the Pangong Tso, where Indian soldiers are facing off against Chinese intruders.
Despite pending payments of over Rs 20,000 crore, HAL revenue grew 6% against the previous year.
HAL's sustained, long-term income will come from the design, development, manufacture, overhaul, and upgrade of a family of helicopters designed for deployment on India's 21,000-foot-high Himalayan frontier with Pakistan and China.
'At Aero India 2025, be prepared to be inspired, awed, and educated,' says Air Commodore Rohith Vijayadev, Air Officer Commanding Yelahanka. 'Aero India 2025 promises to be more than just an air show; it is a celebration of innovation, collaboration, and India's growing leadership in global defence and aviation,' notes Air Commodore Nitin Sathe (retd).
India will replace its military personnel operating three aviation platforms in the Maldives with 'competent' Indian technical personnel even as New Delhi asserted that it remained an important development partner of the island nation.
It is time we buried the mantra of 'peaceful and stable Pakistan is in our interest'. It is not, simply because Pakistan's existence -- that is synonymous with its army -- means peace has no chance, asserts Colonel Anil A Athale (Retd). It is time we buried the mantra of 'peaceful and stable Pakistan is in our interest' asserts Colonel Anil A Athale (Retd).
A day after Ecuador threatened to return the Indian-made Dhruv fleet, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited on Friday rushed a three-member team including its chief test pilot to Quito to investigate the air crash involving one of the seven helicopters.
The Light Combat Helicopter will enable the army to provide fire support to soldiers at altitudes of 15,000 to 20,000 feet, where the oxygen-depleted air prevents them from carrying weaponry heavier than their personal rifles and light machine guns.
Armed with rockets and missiles, these helicopters can rain fire on the enemy in rarefied altitudes.
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.
The Indian Air force has asked the government to procure the Swiss Pilatus basic trainer aircraft to train its rookie pilots instead of a similar aircraft being indigenously developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.
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.
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.
HAL helicopters will be equipped with an 'Obstacle Avoidance System' that warns pilots of any obstacles in their flight path.
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.
Boeing is likely to vie for the deal to supply 110 fighter jets to the IAF in one of the biggest such procurement in recent years globally which could be worth over USD 15 billion.
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.
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.
'Just because of my background and poor academic qualifications, most people disbelieve what I have done.'
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.
Three people were killed after the MiG-21 fighter aircraft crashed into a house in Hanumangarh in Rajasthan shortly after it took off for a routine training sortie from the Air Force Station at Suratgarh.
It will be inducted into the IAF inventory at a ceremony in Jodhpur in presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and chief of air staff Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari.
The light utility helicopter will replace the military's obsolescent fleet of Chetak and Cheetah helicopters that have flown for over three decades.
The 5.8-tonne twin-engine gunship chopper is armed with air-to-air missiles, 20 mm turret guns, rocket systems and other weapons.
The Bengaluru skies dazzled with somersaults and stunts by metal birds.
'Not a single bullet was fired, but we were warning the enemy not to continue with their antics!' IAF Veteran Air Commodore Nitin Sathe finds out how the Light Combat Helicopter, which will be inducted into the IAF on October 3, was designed, developed and flown.
The maiden flight of IJT was preceded by a display of Dhruv highlighting its performance.
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