India Helisphere lifts off Indigenous Rotary Wing Ecosystem

The India Pavilion titled, The India Helisphere, is the major attraction at this edition of the Aero India show. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited’s (HAL) India pavilion is centred around the theme of the rotary wing capabilities in India and was inaugurated on Wednesday by the Defence Minister Rajnath Singh. The pavilion showcases our design and manufacturing supply chain through the multiple facets of rotary wing ecosystem, said Singh during the opening ceremony of Aero India. This pavilion is a major step to underline the promotion of defence exports from the nation and the indigenous possibilities that the country’s defence sector is showcasing.

This is also an effort in increasing the components expanding the vision of making India one of the biggest global defence hub from design to manufacture in public and private both, the Minister highlighted.

Aero India 2021 is a catalyst in realising the goals of defence and aerospace sector and will boost investment, ecosystems and appreciation in manufacturing in India, the Minister highlighted.

To nudge the Atmanirbhar Bharat ki Udan through the India Helisphere, the Defence Minister unveiled the upgraded ALH (Advanced Light Helicopter) Dhruv’s civil version which is ready for certification.

Integrated with advanced glass cockpit advanced vibration control, navigation and communication systems, the ALH - Civil is designed to meet the requirements of civil customers, noted HAL. With the maximum take-off weight of 5500 kg and maximum cruise speed of 240 kmph, the ALH-Dhruv can carry customised roles for VIP, VVIP travel, off-shore onshore operations, search and rescue, casualty evacuation, disaster relief, tourism, etc. and is also capable of night operations.

In line with the theme, HAL’s Rotary platform LUH (Light Utility Helicopter) Military is the centerpiece of the display. The LUH Military is indigenously designed and developed, three ton class new generation single engine helicopter, powered by turbo shaft engine and equipped with Glass cockpit.

With scaled models and the Indian helicopter manufacturing ecosystem on display, the pavilion showcases various indigenously designed and developed fixed and rotary wing platforms, technologies covering power plants and future generation combat-capable airborne solutions like the LFDS-X, an airborne sonar system which can be deployed from rotary wing platforms, RUAV (Rotary Unmanned Aerial Vehicle), transmission systems, rotor blades, shafts, etc.

Depicting the future of Rotary Wing Systems, the prototype of RUAV 200 was also on display which is a fully autonomous unmanned helicopter for deployment in hostile and otherwise inaccessible conditions at high altitudes. It can operate from altitudes of 5500 m, carry a payload of up to 30 kg and comes with a maximum range of 100 km.

The Defence Minister accompanied with the Chief Minister of Karnataka went around the pavilion to witness the rotary wing ecosystem at display.