Armed Rudra receives initial operational clearance
Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) has announced that the armed version of the Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) – Mk-IV, known as Rudra, has achieved initial operational clearance. The company received the certificate on 3 February.
The clearance marks HAL’s entrance into a handful of companies capable of designing, developing, manufacturing and certifying a helicopter as a weapons system to international standards.
RK Tyagi, chairman, HAL, said: ‘The occasion gives us the confidence and it is a proud moment for the country and boosts our indigenous activities’.
P Soundara Rajan, HAL’s MD Helicopter Division, added that the integration of multiple weapons systems simultaneously on the helicopter is a complex assignment, saying: ‘In this particular case it involved four major groups of systems and weapons, involving eight countries: Israel, France, Belgium, South Africa, Germany, Italy, USA and India. Nearly 23 km of cables had to be laid and hundreds of hours of flight and ground tests were carried out’.
The ALH baseline aircraft is a multi-role, multi-mission helicopter in 5.5 ton class, fully designed and developed by HAL. Built to FAR 29 specifications, the aircraft is designed to meet requirement in both military and civil markets. The armed Rudra variant carries self-defensive weapons and is expected to be supplied to the Indian armed forces.
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