HAL rolls-out 300th Dhruv ALH

Bengaluru. In yet another major fillip to the indigenous programme, the 300th Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH-Dhruv) rolled out from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) hangar here on September 29.

Handing over of the 300th Dhruv ALH at the HAL Complex in Bengaluru on September 29.

Speaking on the occasion, HAL CMD R. Madhavan said the ALH never looked back from the day when the prototype undertook its maiden flight on August 30, 1992 and has evolved into a world class helicopter with its unparalleled performance.

“The evolution from ALH Mark-I to Mark-IV has been phenomenal and is a boost to the indigenous design and development of helicopters,” he added.

The roll-out certificate of the 300th helicopter was handed over to Mr. G.V.S. Bhaskar, Chief Executive Officer, Helicopter Complex, by Y. K. Sharma, Additional Director General (South Zone), Directorate General of Aeronautical Quality Assurance (DGAQA) at the HAL’s Helicopter Division.

The 300th Dhruv ALH after its roll-out at the HAL Complex in Bengaluru on September 29.

“Rolling-out of the 300th ALH is a testimony to the capabilities HAL has built over the years with concerted efforts of employees and customer support. With more ALH getting inducted into the services our focus on customer support is ever increasing. With over 280,000 flying hours, the ALH has proven to be a multirole helicopter for Any Mission, Any Place, Any Time”, Bhaskar said.

HAL is currently producing 73 ALHs contracted for the Indian Army (41), the Indian Navy (16) and the Indian Coast Guard (16). Of this, 38 ALHs have already been produced and the remaining will be completed by 2022.

LCH Ground Run: On the occasion the Ground Run of the first Limited Series Production (LSP) of Light Combat Helicopter-Limited Series Production (LCH-LSP) was carried out. This project has been taken up by the company proactively while the order from the services on HAL is in process. The LCH was piloted by Gp. Capt. Hari Krishnan Nair S (retd), the Chief Test Pilot; and Gp. Capt. C.G. Narasimha Prasad, Senior Flight Test Engineer of Flight Operations, Rotary Wing.

S. Anbuvelan, Executive Director, Helicopter Division; Wg. Cdr. Unni Pillai (retd), Executive Director (Flight Operations-Rotary Wing); V. Sivasubramanian, General Manager, Helicopter Division and others were present on the occasion.