08-17-2007, 07:35 PM
<b>Weaponised version of DRDO's Dhruv makes maiden flight</b>
<img src='http://www.hindu.com/2007/08/17/images/2007081762311701.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />
A MILESTONE: A weaponised Dhruv on its first flight in Bangalore on Thursday.
BANGALORE: Aviation major Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is racing ahead with Dhruv, its Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) project, the domestic market for which has crossed the 250 aircraft mark. The weaponised version of Dhruv made its maiden flight at the companyâs Helicopter Division here on Thursday. So did the first ALH driven by a higher-powered Shakti engine, designed and developed jointly by HAL and Turbomeca.
The weaponised version, according to HAL Chairman Ashok Baweja, will be delivered to the armed forces in mid-2009. The whole of next year will be used for trials. The provisional certification was expected in January-February, he told presspersons here.
To meet the high altitude power requirements of the weaponised Dhruv projected by the Army and Air Force, HAL had to replace the earlier Dhruvs powered by the TM 333-2B2 Turbomeca engines. The Shakti engine develops about 30 per cent more power than the 2B2 engine. This translates to more than 150 per cent increase in the aircraftâs payload capability at high altitudes.
Although Thursdayâs first flight of the weaponised Dhruv carried only dummy arms, the helicopter will eventually be fitted with âfire and forgetâ air-to-air missiles, 70 mm rockets that can be fired both in âdirectâ and âindirectâ modes and 20 mm Turret guns which can be âslavedâ to electro-optical system or the helmet pointing system.
The pilot will only need to merely look at the target for the gun to automatically point to the target.
In the near future, Dhruv will also be integrated with âfire and forgetâ anti-tank guided missiles.
International bids
With its joint-marketing partnership with Israel failing to take off, HAL will market the ALH on its own. HAL has already placed bids in Chile, Turkey and Bolivia, but wants to first meet the Indian demand completely and ensure support for service and maintenance, said Mr. Baweja.
HAL currently has an order book for 75 helicopters. The company is also likely to bag an order for 12 air ambulance versions of the helicopter.
Mr. Baweja said the tail rotor blade issue had been sorted out. âWe are now meeting the military standards. The vibration levels are today less than or equal to the required standards.â
Simulation school
To address the training needs of the domestic helicopter market, HAL and the Canadian Aviation Electronics (CAE) will jointly launch a simulation school called Helicopter Academy to Train by Simulation of Flying (HATSOFF), in Bangalore. The US$ 52 million school, to be funded equally by HAL and CAE through a Shareholders Agreement, will be operationalised in September 2008.
<img src='http://www.hindu.com/2007/08/17/images/2007081762311701.jpg' border='0' alt='user posted image' />
A MILESTONE: A weaponised Dhruv on its first flight in Bangalore on Thursday.
BANGALORE: Aviation major Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is racing ahead with Dhruv, its Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) project, the domestic market for which has crossed the 250 aircraft mark. The weaponised version of Dhruv made its maiden flight at the companyâs Helicopter Division here on Thursday. So did the first ALH driven by a higher-powered Shakti engine, designed and developed jointly by HAL and Turbomeca.
The weaponised version, according to HAL Chairman Ashok Baweja, will be delivered to the armed forces in mid-2009. The whole of next year will be used for trials. The provisional certification was expected in January-February, he told presspersons here.
To meet the high altitude power requirements of the weaponised Dhruv projected by the Army and Air Force, HAL had to replace the earlier Dhruvs powered by the TM 333-2B2 Turbomeca engines. The Shakti engine develops about 30 per cent more power than the 2B2 engine. This translates to more than 150 per cent increase in the aircraftâs payload capability at high altitudes.
Although Thursdayâs first flight of the weaponised Dhruv carried only dummy arms, the helicopter will eventually be fitted with âfire and forgetâ air-to-air missiles, 70 mm rockets that can be fired both in âdirectâ and âindirectâ modes and 20 mm Turret guns which can be âslavedâ to electro-optical system or the helmet pointing system.
The pilot will only need to merely look at the target for the gun to automatically point to the target.
In the near future, Dhruv will also be integrated with âfire and forgetâ anti-tank guided missiles.
International bids
With its joint-marketing partnership with Israel failing to take off, HAL will market the ALH on its own. HAL has already placed bids in Chile, Turkey and Bolivia, but wants to first meet the Indian demand completely and ensure support for service and maintenance, said Mr. Baweja.
HAL currently has an order book for 75 helicopters. The company is also likely to bag an order for 12 air ambulance versions of the helicopter.
Mr. Baweja said the tail rotor blade issue had been sorted out. âWe are now meeting the military standards. The vibration levels are today less than or equal to the required standards.â
Simulation school
To address the training needs of the domestic helicopter market, HAL and the Canadian Aviation Electronics (CAE) will jointly launch a simulation school called Helicopter Academy to Train by Simulation of Flying (HATSOFF), in Bangalore. The US$ 52 million school, to be funded equally by HAL and CAE through a Shareholders Agreement, will be operationalised in September 2008.