HAL hands over ALHs to Indian Navy and Coast Guard; LUH Army Variant receives IOC

State-run aerospace behemothHindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) on Friday said it has handedover three Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH Mk III) to theIndian Navy and two to Indian Coast Guard as part of its16 helicopter contract at the ongoing Aero India.

The company also said its Light Utility Helicopter (LUH)received the Initial Operational Clearance (IOC) for theIndian Army from Centre for Military Airworthiness andCertification (CEMILAC).

The ALHs were handed over by R Madhavan, CMD, HAL toAdmiral Karambir Singh, Chief of Naval Staff and K Natarajan,DG, Coast Guard in the presence of Defence Minister RajnathSingh.

''The remaining helicopters from the contract areunder various stages of production, flight tests and we planto deliver all the helicopters within the contract deliveryschedules despite production slowdown due to COVIDrestrictions,'' Madhavan said.

ALH has clogged close to 3,00,000 cumulative flighthours and proven its mettle in versatile operations, HAL said.

The ALH Mk III is fitted with a state-of-the-artGlass cockpit and powerful Shakti engine, it said, adding thatthe contract involves integration of 19 major systems with theexisting ALH MK III.

Regarding LUH, Madhavan said thrust is being givenby HAL for indigenous R&D programmes towards self-reliance andenhancing operational effectiveness of Armed Forces.

The LUH is a 3-ton class new generation singleengine helicopter indigenously designed and developed byRotary Wing Research and Design Centre of HAL with featuressuitable for operations in the diverse operating conditionsunique to India.

The LUH will replace the ageing fleet of Cheetah/Chetak helicopters operated by the Services.

According to Arup Chatterjee, Director (Engg.andR&D), performance of the basic helicopter in all terrains andunder all weather conditions is satisfactory.

HAL is currently in the phase of integrating andflight-testing mission role equipment on LUH, and the companyis fully geared up to fulfill the requirements of customers ina time bound manner.

The LUH is powered by a single turbo shaft engineArdiden 1U from M/s.Safran Helicopter Engine (SHE), Francewith adequate power margins to accomplish high altitudemissions in Himalayas with ease.

HAL said LUH is equipped with Smart Cockpit DisplaySystem (Glass Cockpit), state-of-the-art HUMS (Health & UsageMonitoring System) and is designed for various utility andarmed roles.

The company said it has also received theProvisional Certificate of Engine and Flight Display Unit,(EFDU) indigenously developed for Jaguar DARIN III fighteraircraft platform.PTI KSU BNADMINISTRATOR BNADMINISTRATOR