In yet another major fillip to the indigenous programme, the 300th Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH-Dhruv) was rolled out from HAL hangar on Tuesday.
This was informed by the Tezpur-based defence spokesperson Lt. Col. Harsh Wardhan Pande on Tuesday evening.
Speaking on the occasion, R Madhavan, chairman-cum-managing director (CMD), HAL said, “ALH never looked back from the day when the prototype took its maiden flight on August 30, 1992 and has evolved into a world-class helicopter with its unparalleled performance.”
“The evolution from ALH Mark-1 to Mark-IV has been phenomenal and is a boost to the indigenous design and development of helicopters,” he added.
The roll-out certificate of the 300th helicopter was handed over to GVS Bhaskar, chief executive officer, Helicopter Complex by YK Sharma, additional director general (south zone), Directorate General of Aeronautical Quality Assurance (DGAQA) at a programme held at HAL’s Helicopter Division in Bangalore.
Bhaskar said: “Rolling-out of 300th ALH is a testimony to the capabilities HAL has built over the years with concerted efforts of employees and customer support.”
“With more ALH getting inducted into the services our focus on customer support is ever increasing. With over 2,80,000 flying hours ALH has proven to be a multirole helicopter for Any Mission, Any Place, Any Time,” he said.
Currently, HAL is producing 73 ALHs contracted for Army (41), Indian Navy (16) and Indian Coast Guard (16).
Out of this, 38 ALHs have already been produced and the remaining will be completed by 2022.
