DHRUV

In a body blow to the government's continual Atmanirbhar campaign, Indian Air Force (IAF) announced that Tejas, the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) and Dhruv, the Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) --- both showpieces of indigenous aerospace prowess --- would be benched for the 2025 Republic Day Parade fly past, an extremely popular and keenly awaited spectacle over Kartavya Path (erstwhile Rajpath). While the reason for the Tejas being kept away was an IAF policy decision to disallow single engine aircraft due to safety concerns, the Dhruv was kept away as it had been grounded after an India Coast Guard (ICG) Dhruv crashed at Porbandar Airport on January 5 this year. All three crew members perished during the accident and an investigation is ongoing. At the time of writing this, the final report of the defect investigation team, initially expected on March 3, is still awaited.

- By Gp Capt AK Sachdev (Retd)

THE DHRUV STORY

The Dhruv story is a cause for Indian pride as the helicopter is an indigenous aerospace success story. It has been used extensively, including at high altitude, and in many roles including transport of passengers and cargo, utility, reconnaissance, medical evacuation, and weaponized roles over land and sea. Designed by the Rotary Wing R&D Centre of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), it is a twin-engine helicopter in the 5.5 ton plus category (i.e. the Maximum Take Off Weight or MTOW is 5500 kg).

It first flew in 1992, entered military service in 2002, and received type certification from Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for civil operations in 2004. Some reports claim that more than 400 Dhruvs have been produced but, according to HAL's own website, the figure until June 2024 is 345 of which 313 were for Indian defence services (including ICG). Interpolating the production figures, another 15 could have been manufactured since June 2024 thus taking the total produced to around 360.

There are four military versions numbered Mk-I, Mk-II, Mk-III and Mk-IV, the last one being a 5.8 ton machine. While the first two are utility versions and use a Turbomeca (now Safran Helicopter Engines) TM333-2B2 power plant, the latter two use the ARDIDEN 1H1 engine (developed in collaboration with Safran and named Shakti).

The Mk-III is a utility role platform suitable for high altitude operations while the Mk-IV is essentially a Mk-III with weapon systems and mission sensors and is called Rudra while another version, the Light Combat Helicopter (LCH), or Prachand, is also based on the Dhruv design. The Sarang air display team of the Indian Air Force (IAF) also uses the Dhruv.

HAL'S TRIALS, USERS' TRIBULATIONS