By Staff Correspondent
The Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH Dhruv), the ‘workhorse of the Indian Armed Forces’ is under review by the Centre for Military Airworthiness and Certification (CEMILAC), following a series of recent accidents. Over 300 ALH Dhruvs are currently in use by the Indian Army, Navy, Air Force, and Coast Guard. CEMILAC’s committee has identified certain issues in their preliminary study, with parts showing faster fatigue among the findings.
Sources within the defence and security establishment have dismissed design flaws, but have identified issues with certain parts wearing out faster than expected. The CEMILAC panel found that if a part with a flying life of 300 hours develops fatigue before that time, then the flying life will have to be reduced to allow for necessary replacement or service.
The review comes after three ALHs crashed since March, leading to safety checks and the grounding of the helicopter. Last year, the crash of an ALH known as the Rudra in Arunachal Pradesh was linked to a broken “collective” and high fatigue marks in the rod, according to the Court of Inquiry.
The review has also led to the grounding of the indigenous Light Combat Helicopter (LCH), which is based on the ALH design and is a derivative of it. The IAF has received five of the 10 orders for the LCH, and they are undergoing the same checks and balances as the ALH following Dhruv’s crashes last month.
The Indian Army is currently looking at procuring nearly 95 Prachand LCH for mountain warfare and nearly 110 Light Utility Helicopters (LUH) to replace the ageing Cheetahs and Chetaks from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
