Dhruv - Versatility Unlimited

Designed to meet the robust requirements of the armed forces, Dhruv has all the prerequisites of a good civilian passenger helicopter as well—a wide body, spacious and quiet cabin, sliding doors, emergency exits and smooth, vibration-free flying.

The ministry of civil aviation has dubbed 2008 Year of the Helicopter. This is, in no small measure, based on the success of the home-grown Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH)—the Dhruv. First announced by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in November 1984, initial progress in the ALH programme was tardy owing primarily to the frequently changing demands or Quantitative Requirements (QRs) of the Indian military, for whom the helicopter had originally been conceived. The first prototype flew in August 1992, but paucity of funds and contractual issues with aviation major MBB, the design consultants, led to further delay in the development process. In 1998, India carried out the second nuclear test resulting in imposition of a host of sanctions by the US. This included an embargo on the supply of the LH TECH 800 engine which was to power the ALH. It was then that HAL turned to Turbomeca of France and selected the TM 333-B2 turboshaft engine as the interim power-plant for its fledgling helicopter. An agreement was also reached with Turbomeca to develop a more powerful engine jointly with HAL. This engine was to be christened Shakti and has since been integrated with the ALH in 2007.

Dhruv was developed for the Indian military in order to replace the aging Chetak (Allouette III) and Cheetah (Allouette II). The fundamental design called for an all-weather helicopter in the four to five tonne class, incorporating modern engineering features and fitted with state-of-the-art instruments and avionics. Curiously, the initial QRs of the Indian military called for a single-engine helicopter, capable of operating safely, economically and efficiently, in what is arguably, the most challenging flying environment in the world. It was only a matter of time policy makers of the Indian military realised that a single-engine configuration was not a prudent option. The QRs having been quickly revised, the project was back to the drawing board for the HAL design team to come up with a suitable twin-engine helicopter. What eventually emerged was a multi-role new generation helicopter in the 5.5 tonne class. It was designed for both military and civil roles, complying with the most stringent of international standards stipulated by FAR and US MIL.