Latest news with #ALHs
New Indian Express
02-05-2025
- General
- New Indian Express
Army, IAF to fly Dhruv again after crash probe
BENGALURU: The Army and Air Force variants of the indigenous Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Dhruv have been cleared for operations, nearly four months after the entire fleet was grounded following a fatal crash in January. In an official press release issued by the HAL on Thursday, the clearance was granted based on the recommendations of the Defect Investigation (DI) Committee, which looked into the cause of the January 5 crash in Porbandar. 'A time-bound plan for the phased resumption of flying has been worked out with the users,' the release said. This clearance applies only to the Army and Air Force variants for now. The crash on January 5 involved an ALH Mark-III of the Indian Coast Guard, killing all three crew members during a training sortie. Following the incident, all 330 ALHs in service with the armed forces were grounded as a safety precaution. Investigators had found that the chopper had failed to respond to pilot inputs in its final few seconds. The root cause was identified as a fracture in the swashplate assembly, a critical part in the helicopter's transmission system. HAL officials had also suspected that a rare material failure may have led to the malfunction. Though the Army and Air Force variants have now been cleared, the advisory to civilian operators remains. HAL has asked them to keep their ALH Mark-III helicopters grounded until the investigation into the Porbandar crash is fully completed.
Hindustan Times
02-05-2025
- General
- Hindustan Times
Army, IAF Dhruv choppers cleared for flying
Srinagar: The army and the air force's Dhruv advanced light helicopter (ALH) fleets, grounded nearly four months ago following a fatal coast guard crash in Gujarat, have been declared airworthy, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) said on Thursday. The navy and coast guard's ALHs are still grounded. The development comes at a critical moment as the Indian military readies plans to respond to Pakistan in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack. 'The Dhruv ALH army and IAF versions are cleared for operations based on the recommendations of the defect investigation committee recommendations,' the state-run plane maker said. A time-bound plan for the resumption of operations has been worked out with the users, it added. Before the clearance came, the army had already begun flying its ALHs in Jammu and Kashmir to address urgent operational needs a day after the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 people. HT had reported on April 2 that investigators were struggling to determine the root cause of the January 5 accident in which two coast guard pilots and an aircrew diver were killed. A high-powered panel earlier found that a swashplate fracture caused the coast guard ALH crash at Porbandar in Gujarat on January 5. The reason for the breakdown of the critical component, which compromised the ability of the pilots to control the helicopter's motion, was not immediately known. Earlier HAL, which has designed and developed the ALH, involved Bengaluru-based Indian Institute of Science (IISc) to perform fatigue testing of a critical part in the twin-engine helicopter's transmission system to get to the bottom of the matter. The prolonged grounding of the workhorse fleet was a setback for the three services and the coast guard, which together operate around 330 ALHs. A fleet-wide inspection conducted after the January 5 crash revealed that some navy and coast guard ALHs were facing the same problem --- cracks in the swashplate assembly --- and this could be linked to sustained operations in a saline environment. HT was the first to report on February 4 that a detailed analysis by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Aerospace Laboratories (CSIR-NAL), Bengaluru, pointed to a swashplate assembly failure. The ALH underwent a design review followed by a replacement of a defective control system only in 2023-24. The helicopter has been involved in around 15 accidents during the last five years, putting the spotlight on its safety record. The coast guard suspended ALH operations following an accident last September when a helicopter crashed into the Arabian Sea near Porbandar. Then too, two pilots and an aircrew diver were killed. The grounding was for a one-time check. The three services did not ground their fleets then. Last September's accident, too, came after the design review that culminated in a critical safety upgrade on the ALH fleet, initiated by HAL. It involved installing upgraded control systems on the helicopters to improve their airworthiness. The comprehensive design review came after the ALH fleet was grounded several times in 2023 too after a raft of accidents called into question its flight safety record.
The Hindu
01-05-2025
- General
- The Hindu
Army and Air Force versions of ALH Dhruv cleared for operations: HAL
The Army and the Air Force versions of the Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Dhruv, which have been grounded since January, have been cleared for operations. The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), which is the manufacturer of the Dhruv helicopter, on Thursday said that based on the Defect Investigation (DI) Committee recommendations the Army and Air Force versions of the helicopter are cleared for operations. 'It is now intimated that the Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Dhruv Army and Air Force versions are cleared for operations based on the Defect Investigation (DI) Committee recommendations,' the defence PSU said in a statement. It further added that a time-bound plan for the resumption of operations has been worked out with the users. The armed forces had temporarily grounded all their 330 ALHs following the January 5 crash of the Indian Coast Guard's ALH Mark-III in Porbandar, Gujarat during a training sortie that killed all three crew members onboard. the helicopter. Besides, the HAL had also advised civilian operators to ground the helicopter till the cause of the crash is identified. The ALH Dhruv was also missing in action at the Aero India 2025. The Indian Air Force's Sarang Helicopter Display Team, which has displayed their formation aerobatics skills in the show for the last two decades, did not participate this time due to the grounding of the ALH Dhruv helicopter. Following the grounding of the indigenous helicopter, the armed forces had been facing a shortage of helicopters and their military operations were affected. However, last week in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack, the Army version of the ALH had resumed flying in the Anantnag area of Jammu and Kashmir.
The Print
01-05-2025
- Politics
- The Print
Amid tensions with Pakistan, grounded ALH fleet for Army & IAF cleared for limited operations
It added that 'a time-bound plan for the resumption of operations has been worked out with the users,' referring to the two services. 'The Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Dhruv Army and Air Force versions are cleared for operations based on the Defect Investigation (DI) Committee recommendations,' state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), the manufacturer of the helicopters, said in a statement. New Delhi: Amid rising tensions with Pakistan after the Pahalgam attack, the grounded fleet of Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) belonging to the Army and Air Force has been cleared for operations. The fleet of the Navy and the Indian Coast Guard will remain grounded. Sources in the defence establishment said no parts have to be immediately replaced across the fleet but the Defect Investigation Committee has given certain recommendation on the checks and quality parameters that the operators should follow. The entire ALH fleet—comprising more than 180 Army ALHs (including 60 Rudra armed variants), 75 Air Force helicopters, 24 Navy and 19 Coast Guard helicopters—has been grounded since a tragic crash of a Coast Guard helicopter that killed three personnel in January. Last week, however, the helicopters got limited clearances for operations in Jammu and Kashmir due to the ongoing tensions with Pakistan, with operations permitted only in specific emergency cases. Tension has ratcheted up between India and Pakistan after the 22 April terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam that killed 26 people. India holds Pakistan-backed terror groups responsible for the attack and has taken a series of punitive measures. Pakistan has responded with tit for tat measures. Sources said initial investigation in the January crash pointed to a fracture in the swashplate, a critical component in the helicopter's transmission system that translates pilot inputs into rotor blade motion. A fleet-wide inspection later revealed cracks in the swashplates of some Navy and Coast Guard ALHs, particularly those operating in saline maritime environments, raising concerns about material fatigue and environmental stress. Since its induction, the ALH platform has logged over 450,000 flight hours and served critical roles in transport, logistics, reconnaissance and search-and-rescue missions, especially in high-altitude and border areas. However, it has also faced a troubled safety record with at least 28 crashes reported over the past 25 years. (Edited by Ajeet Tiwari) Also read: ALH Mk-IIIs grounded yet again after fatal Porbandar crash. What grounding of a fleet entails
Time of India
23-04-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Army allowed to fly grounded 'Dhruv' copters for counter ops
NEW DELHI: Defence ministry has given the Army permission to fly the 'Dhruv' advanced light helicopters (ALHs) in Srinagar and adjoining areas to help the intensive counter-terror operations launched after the Pahalgam terror massacre. All the 330 twin-engine ALHs in the armed forces were grounded for safety checks since a crash killed two Coast Guard pilots and an aircrew diver in Porbandar on Jan 5. This majorly hit military operations and preparedness, especially along the borders with China and Pakistan. "Permission has been given to the Army to fly its ALHs in Srinagar and adjoining areas as per the requirements of the ground force commanders," an official said on Wednesday. The armed forces rely heavily on the multi-role 5.5-tonne ALHs for 'sustenance flights' to forward areas and posts as well as for observation and reconnaissance, search and rescue missions. The most affected is the Army, which has a fleet of over 180 ALHs, including 60 weaponised versions called 'Rudra', manufactured by HAL.
