Maharatna defence PSU Hindustan Aeronautics Limited HAL is gearing up to sign a contract for supply of Light Utility Helicopters (LIH) to the Indian Army and Indian Air Force in the second quarter of this year to replace World War II vintage Cheetahs and Chetaks, as it’s undergoing the process of last mile certification and fixing some other issues for the new generation rotary aircraft.

Top HAL sources said that the production timelines of the HUL went haywire because the flight control system or auto pilot software purchased from the Safran Electronics was delayed, first due to Covid pandemic influenced supply constraints and subsequently due to other reasons at their end. 

Now the HAL has got the flight control system software, which has two parts including for basic stablisation, and it has been installed in the LUH body. The software is undergoing certification testing, besides the Maharatna defence PSU is also in the process of fixing some other issues, DPSU sources stated.

The HAL, it’s learnt, had also sought help from an international lab based in Netherland to overcome a particular adjustment. “We anticipate that by the first or second quarter we should be able to do it,” said a senior officer of the HAL. 

However, all other certification activities like ground testing, ground test vehicle endurance runs, system testing, flight testing including hot weather trials, cold weather trials, sea level trials and hot weather high altitude trials have been completed. On the basis of the flight trials carried out, all staff quality requirements for basic helicopter certification have been done satisfactorily.

It is learnt that the Indian Army has expressed some hesitation in signing the contract before all the processes with the helicopter are exhausted. However, the HAL wants to ink the deal before that since the DPSU would have a lead time of 24 months to deliver the helicopters after the signing of the contract.

The top sources in the DPSU said that given that HUL in an important product owing to the fact that it has both, civil as well as military, usage, they have gone ahead and built about 6 copters. 

Each weighs three ton and is powered by a single turbo shaft engine Ardiden 1U from France-based Safran Helicopter Engine (SHE). The initial HUL procurement numbers the HAL is looking for is 12 — six each for Army and Air Force. 

This is part of the overall requirement of the Army which intends to procure 225 LUH to replace aging Cheetah, Chetak and Cheetal copters though negotiations are going on for 110 of them. 

The LUH is indigenously designed and developed by Rotary Wing Research and Design Centre of the HAL,which received the Initial Operational Clearance (IOC) for the Indian Army from Centre for Military Airworthiness and Certification (CEMILAC) way back in February of 2021. 

It is equipped with Smart Cockpit Display System (Glass Cockpit), state-of-the-art HUMS (Health & Usage Monitoring System) and is designed for various utility and armed roles. 

The helicopter has features suitable for operations in diverse operating conditions, such as to accomplish high altitude missions in the Himalayas.