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Light Utility Helicopters from HAL
HAL - Light Utility Helicopter (LUH)
As the tender to procure 197 Light Utility Helicopters (LUH) from foreign sources is held up, the Indian aerospace major Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is developing an indigenous LUH to provide logistics support to forces deployed in the mountainous terrain of Ladakh at altitudes ranging from 10,000 to 23,000 feet.
The programme for developing the three-tonne helicopter is in the ‘design freeze’ stage after consultations with the armed forces headquarters, including the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force. The first ground test vehicle is being readied for factory tests and the prototype is expected to be ready for flight by 2015. The single-engine chopper would be powered by a French engine, which has been selected through a tendering process. The total requirement of the Indian Army and the IAF is for 384 LUH of which 197 are to be procured from foreign vendors while the remaining were to be produced by HAL.
However, the plan to procure 197 choppers from abroad is in a limbo as the tender has been stalled for the second time and may eventually be cancelled altogether. The HAL may well receive orders for the total requirement of 384 and even more to meet with the future requirements.
Light Utility Helicopters from HAL » Indian Defence Review
HAL - Light Utility Helicopter (LUH)
As the tender to procure 197 Light Utility Helicopters (LUH) from foreign sources is held up, the Indian aerospace major Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is developing an indigenous LUH to provide logistics support to forces deployed in the mountainous terrain of Ladakh at altitudes ranging from 10,000 to 23,000 feet.
The programme for developing the three-tonne helicopter is in the ‘design freeze’ stage after consultations with the armed forces headquarters, including the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force. The first ground test vehicle is being readied for factory tests and the prototype is expected to be ready for flight by 2015. The single-engine chopper would be powered by a French engine, which has been selected through a tendering process. The total requirement of the Indian Army and the IAF is for 384 LUH of which 197 are to be procured from foreign vendors while the remaining were to be produced by HAL.
However, the plan to procure 197 choppers from abroad is in a limbo as the tender has been stalled for the second time and may eventually be cancelled altogether. The HAL may well receive orders for the total requirement of 384 and even more to meet with the future requirements.
Light Utility Helicopters from HAL » Indian Defence Review
