The Hindu : National : Defence chiefs unhappy over frequent grounding of Dhruvs, complain to HAL

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Wednesday, Aug 01, 2007
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Defence chiefs unhappy over frequent grounding of Dhruvs, complain to HAL

Ravi Sharma

Bangalore: With a number of Advanced Light Helicopters (ALHs) being frequently grounded because of paucity of spares and serviceability problems, the three defence Chiefs have expressed unhappiness over the manufacturer, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

The crux of their message is that even as they would like to see a faster and on-time induction schedule, they would also necessarily like to have in their inventories, trouble-free helicopters.

Informed sources told The Hindu that the chiefs had communicated to the HAL, Bangalore that it was paramount that the ALHs be available for flying duties more often than they were at present.

According to a senior Indian Air Force pilot, while the serviceability of 70 to 80 per cent of all available helicopters was desirable at any given time, the ALHs inducted so far were yet to come close to that figure.

Complaints made

The communication is a follow-up to complaints made by senior defence officers including the Deputy Army Chief, when they met officials from the HAL and the Defence Minister A.K. Antony during the latter’s maiden visit to the public sector unit after he had taken charge of the defence portfolio. The Army has been the most vociferous in its protests, since Army Aviation is the biggest user of the ALH.

Majority with Army

The ALHs, christened Dhruv, were inducted into the armed forces in 2002 with the first one going to the Coast Guard.

Currently, around 70 Dhruvs have been inducted into the defence forces, with a majority in the inventory of Army Aviation.

While acknowledging that induction was a painful process requiring the setting up of ground support and handling equipment, ground spares support, placing in position warranty and product support teams, senior officials in the HAL agreed that the ALH programme was yet to mature to desirable levels.

Problems compounded

Experts said the problems were compounded because the HAL was compelled to launch the helicopter’s production phase simultaneously with its limited series production phase.

This was because the ALH project, launched in November 1984, was years behind schedule and had to be speeded up.

The sources said the defence major had taken note of the observations regarding the vibration problem and the non-availability of spares and had initiated corrective steps.

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