25 Facts About HAL Dhruv

HAL Dhruv is a utility helicopter designed and developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.

HAL Dhruv were given a contract by the Indian government in 1984 to develop the helicopter; Germany's Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm were contracted in July 1984 as a design consultant and collaborative partner on the programme.

The HAL Dhruv-WSI is to be capable of conducting combat air support and anti-submarine warfare roles as well.

In February 2012, HAL Dhruv reported that the Indian Army had ordered a further 159.

HAL Dhruv is of conventional design; about 29 percent of its empty weight is composite materials.

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In June 2011 HAL has reported that the issue had been resolved and not present in the Dhruv Mk III, a number of alterations both to the design and production had been made to improve the IDS.

Deliveries of the HAL Dhruv commenced in January 2002, nine years after the prototype's first flight, and nearly eighteen years after the program was initiated.

The Indian Coast Guard was the first service to operate the HAL Dhruv; this was followed by the Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Air Force and the Border Security Force.

HAL Dhruv is capable of flying at high altitudes, as it was an Army requirement for the helicopter to be able operate in the Siachen Glacier and Kashmir regions.

An Indian Army report in 2009 criticised the HAL Dhruv's performance, stating: "The ALH was not able to fly above 5,000m, though the army's requirements stipulated an ability to fly up to 6,500m"; this has been blamed on the TM333 engine.

In 2015, HAL modified the foldable rotor's design to allow the Dhruv to be carried on board light frigates; several Indian Navy helicopters shall receive this modification.

Civil HAL Dhruv variants are produced for transport, rescue, policing, offshore operations, air-ambulance, and other roles.

The National Disaster Management Authority placed an order for 12 HAL Dhruv helicopters equipped with a full medical suite, including ventilators and two stretchers.

In October 2011, The Telegraph reported that a spate of helicopter crashes, including the HAL Dhruv, were alleged to have been caused by low quality maintenance work performed by Pawan Hans Helicopters Ltd.

In February 2012, the Home Ministry reported that the HAL Dhruv remained grounded and that other helicopters such as the Mi-17 were being wet-leased in its place and that in the long term the HAL Dhruv fleet is to be replaced.

The HAL Dhruv could carry more people from high-altitude helipads than the heavier Mi-17, and land where the lighter Bell 407 could not.

In January 2014, the Geological Survey of India inducted a HAL Dhruv equipped with a heliborne geophysical survey system.

In March 2017, HAL received an order for 32 Dhruv for Indian Navy and Indian Coast Guard.

In February 2021, HAL Dhruv announced that it had rolled out the 300th Advance Light Helicopter out of its production line in Bangalore.

On 8 August 2021, the Indian Army's HAL Dhruv helicopter crashed into the water near Ranjit Sagar Dam.

HAL Dhruv has become the first major Indian weapons system to have secured large foreign sales.

In 2004 HAL stated that it hoped to sell 120 Dhruvs over the next eight years, and has been displaying the Dhruv at airshows, including Farnborough and Paris in order to market the Dhruv.

HAL Dhruv participated in a Chilean tender for eight to ten twin-engined helicopters, conducting a series of evaluation flights to demonstrate the capabilities of its avionics and flight performance; however, it lost out to the Bell 412, although there were media accusations of unfair pressure being exercised by the US Government to favour Bell.

Civilian HAL Dhruv was leased to the Israeli Defense Ministry in 2004; IAI has made use of the Defense Ministry's HAL Dhruv for marketing and public relations purposes.

The HAL Dhruv has been offered to Malaysia, while it is being evaluated by the Indonesian Army.

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