In an ambitious project aimed at boosting self reliance in defence manufacturing, the public sector aerospace major Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) has worked out a detailed proposal to produce attack helicopter in the 10-12 tonne category by 2027, five years ahead of the Indian Air Force’s planned phase out of the bulk of the helicopter fleet comprising the Mi-17 by 2032.
The proposed copters when realised will be comparable to medium-lift military choppers like the Apache of the Boeing.
Chairman and Managing Director of HAL R Madhavan said the aim of the mega project is to stop import of military helicopters, worth over Rs 4 lakh crore, for the three services in the coming years.
This is the biggest project undertaken by the HAL after development of the Tejas military aircraft and the move is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision to minimise dependence on import of military hardware.
In an interview to news agency PTI, Madhavan said the HAL has completed the preliminary design of the helicopter and that initial plan is to produce at least 500 units with the first prototype set to be ready by 2023 if the Government gives the go ahead to the project this year.
“One major project we are focusing on is to produce a helicopter in 10 to 12 tonnes category to replace the Mi-17 fleet. It will be an indigenous platform with the potential to manufacture around 500 helicopters. It will stop import of more than Rs 4 lakh crore worth of platforms from foreign countries,” he told the agency.
A fund of Rs 9,600 crore will be required for formulation of the design and production of the prototype of the helicopter, the HAL chief said.
“If we get the approval in 2020, we will be able to manufacture the first chopper by 2027. We are looking at producing at least 500 helicopters of the variant. It will be a major project we are working on,” Madhavan said.
“We have done the preliminary design. We have also been in discussion with the Air Force and the Navy. The 10-12 tonnes category will have two basic structures on similar platforms. The naval version will have different dimension compared to the one for the Army and the Air Force,” Madhavan revealed on the proposed project.
“Like the LCH (Light Combat Helicopter) we developed from the Dhruv platform, a similar variant of 10-12 tonnes category can be produced to make it an Apache equivalent,” said Madhavan.
The proposed helicopter will boast of twin engines and will feature blade folding option for ship deck operations. The planned roles for the helicopter will be to support aerial assault, air transport, combat logistics and combat search and rescue. The chopper will also have a superior weapons package as per the requirement of the stakeholders.
Once realised, the helicopter will have a huge potential for export, Madhavan said.
The Russian-origin Mi-17 helicopters are mainstay of the IAF’s helicopter fleet and these are planned to be phased out by 2032.
The HAL’s product range includes a number of helicopter like the LCH (Light Combat Helicopter) and multi-role ALH (Advanced Light Helicopter) and Chetak choppers.
India is one of the largest importers of arms and military platforms globally. The Government has been emphasising defence indigenisation by putting in place a number of reform initiatives including liberalising FDI in defence sector and opening the defence laboratories for conducting various types of tests by the private sector.
The IAF is procuring a total of 22 Apache Guardian attack helicopters from American aerospace major Boeing under a multi-billion dollar deal. The Army is also procuring six Apache helicopters along with weapons systems, a deal for which was inked during US President Donald Trump’s visit to India last week.