Indigenous helicopters development programmes face troubling times ahead
Lt Gen. B.S. Pawar (retd)
From manufacture of now outdated, obsolete and vintage Cheetah/ Chetak helicopters under licence from French Sud Aviation, (present day Airbus Helicopters), to the design and development the of state-of-the-art twin engine helicopter like the Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), capable of operating at high altitudes including the Siachen glacier was a great feat in itself.
The first ALHs were inducted into the army in 2002. I had the first-hand experience of their operational capability and technical/ design problems faced in the initial years, as head of the Army Aviation Corps during 2004 to 2006. Today, there are more than 400 different variants of ALHs in service with the Indian armed forces and coast guard including a few with certain civilian establishments like state governments and public sector undertakings like Pawan Hans Limited and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC).
Over the years, the ALH fleet has become not only the workhorse of the armed forces but also their lifeline for operations along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and the Line of Control (LC), especially in view of the limited operations of the Chetak/ Cheetah fleet which have already reached the end of their technical life. The military alone operates around 350 of these helicopters with the army being the largest operator with a fleet of about 190 ALHs.
However, the recent spate of crashes involving the indigenously developed ALH, also called the Dhruv, the workhorse of the Indian military, has set off alarm bells, both in the military establishment and among the civil users. The latest ALH crash, belonging to the coast guard occurred on January 5 this year resulting in the death of all three crew members on board, raising serious concerns about safety and reliability of the helicopter itself. As per the available data, there have been 15 accidents in the last five years, a number of them fatal. No manufacturer can be proud of, or live with, this kind of a flight safety record even though a few accidents were attributable to pilot error.
Despite this dismal record, over the years, HAL has only resorted to quick fixes including introducing additional maintenance checks rather than comprehensively addressing the burning issues like technical design and metallurgy flaws, especially quality control. This has led to the frequent groundings of the entire ALH fleet, thereby seriously impacting the operational preparedness and capability of the military, especially in the current sensitive security scenario.
The present ALH grounding after the coast guard’s fatal accident, has resulted in its non-participation not only in the Army Day parade held in Pune on January 15, but also the Republic Day flypast on January 26. This sends a negative message to the environment and creates serious doubts on the safety credentials of the ALH. This no doubt will also affect its export potential. Several countries like Argentina, Philippines and Egypt which had shown interest in acquiring the ALH will now have serious doubts due to its poor safety record. This is the time for HAL to introspect and carry out a comprehensive and transparent investigation to identify the problem areas and issues plaguing the ALH fleet and take remedial actions on a war footing. HAL’s own credibility as an international aerospace manufacturing hub is at stake, especially when it is one of the biggest exhibitors at Aero India 2025.
Design and Development
HAL is involved in the design and development of the ALH, Light Combat Helicopter (LCH), Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) and the Indian Multi-Role Helicopter (IMRH) projects. While the ALH and LCH have already been inducted into service in 2002 and 2021 respectively, the LUH is struggling to overcome some major technical issues facing the helicopter—it should have been inducted about two years back. The IMRH in the 13-ton category is still in the design and development stage and is being developed to replace the existing fleet of medium lift helicopters like the Mi-17 V5 in the future. Let us look at each of these projects and the problems they face.
ALH: The ALH is a 5.5-ton twin engine multi-role modern helicopter with the distinct capability to operate at very high altitudes especially, Siachen. Its design and development by HAL started in mid-Eighties but the helicopter was first flown in 1992 and as mentioned earlier, entered service in 2002 after airworthiness certification by Centre for Military Airworthiness and Certification (CEMILAC), a regulatory body under the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), for military operations and director general civil aviation for civil operations.
There are now over 400 helicopters both military and civil versions operating in India which are presently grounded with ongoing investigations due to the January 5 fatal accident. A majority of the ALH helicopters in service in India and abroad are the Mk 3 and Mk 4, the utility and armed versions, respectively and are fitted with the powerful Shakti engine which enables high altitude operations. The Shakti engine is built through a joint venture between HAL and Safran, the French engine manufacturer. The armed version is called the Rudra and is fitted with guns, rockets and anti-tank and air to air missiles. It is in service with the army and Indian Air Force (IAF). It is another matter that the anti-tank guided (ATGM) missile, the air version of Nag missile called Helina, is still not ready for deployment on the helicopters.
Fifteen accidents in five years, resulting in numerous groundings at a time when regional security environment is fraught with danger, seriously impacts national security. While some accidents could be attributed to adverse weather, maintenance lapses or pilot error, recent investigations have clearly pointed to design and metallurgy flaws and poor quality control, especially with regard to the aluminium built booster control rods which are vital to helicopters’ flight control system. Following the number of accidents in 2023, a detailed probe was carried out by CEMILAC for judging airworthiness of the military aircraft, with representatives from HAL, National Aerospace Laboratory (NAL) and the Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA).
This committee confirmed the earlier findings that the aluminium-built booster control rods fitted on ALH fleet were defective and prone to failure. It recommended their replacement with more robust steel ones, which have since been done by HAL on the entire ALH fleet. However, despite this modification the accidents continue to occur with three more crashes in the last six months. The spotlight is once again on HAL and CEMILAC for trying to fix a serious design problem by providing stopgap solutions and the end results are for all to see. The ALH fleet continues to be grounded with the credibility of helicopters’ operational safety and HAL’s ability to address the problem taking a hit both internally and internationally. A comprehensive and transparent design review by an independent body of experts including from abroad if necessary is the urgent need of the hour to pinpoint the problem areas and rectify the same.
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