2. Project Title : Weaponisation of Advanced Light Helicopter
– “Making of Rudra”
Submitted by
Organisation : Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
Sector
: Public Sector – Defence
Address
: 15/1, Cubbon Road,
Corporate office,
Bangalore - 560001
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3. Project Description
The advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) is a flagship helicopter
platform indigenously Designed, Developed and Built by
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
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4. Project Description
Multi role, multi mission machine designed to meet the
requirements of Indian Armed Services.
Utility variants of ALH (Dhruv) are deployed with Indian Air
Force, Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Coast Guard and BSF.
To make ALH a ‘tactical air asset’ with superior aerial power,
requirements for weaponisation were laid out by Defence
Services.
HAL team took up the challenge to give ALH the highest
standard of Combat Capability in a crucial battlefield scenario.
ALH was suitably configured to incorporate
• Weapon Systems
• Targeting Systems
• Warning & Counter Measure Systems
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5. Project Details
ALH-WSI derives its combat edge from Weapons and
Mission Systems installed with:
• 20mm Turreted Gun
• 70mm rockets
• Air-to-Air missiles (ATAM)
• Electro Optic Pod (EO Pod)
• Helmet Pointing System (HPS)
• Electronic Warfare (EW) Suite (Radar Warning, Laser
Warning and Missile Warning Systems)
• Flare and Chaff Dispenser (FCD)
• Video Data Recorder
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6. Project Status
The ALH Mk-IV Army version ‘Rudra’ was accorded Initial
Operational Clearance (IOC) by the Centre for Military
Airworthiness and Certification (CEMILAC) on 1st Feb 2013.
The first two Rudra’s were exhibited in Aero India 2013
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7. Images of rocket firing, flare dispensing
Images of gun firing and ATAM firing
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8. What all makes this project eligible for Engineering Excellence
Award 2013
It is the only Weaponised platform with advanced capabilities which
is custom-built to the requirements of the Indian Armed forces for
warfare from Sea-level to High altitude at Himalayan mountain
ranges as would be required by India.
ALH-WSI is capable of high altitude operations with larger pay
loads (250Kg) as compared to Cheetah helicopter, which is the
only Helicopter that operates at High altitudes.
Extensive use of best of the class armament of future attention to
give the Indian armed forces an combat edge in any battle
situation.
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9. The weaponised ALH embodies host of user-friendly features and
technologies matching with the platforms of the leading helicopter
manufacturers in its class.
It has best in-class cabin volume with seating for 14 fully equipped
troops. In fact, the cabin space is comparable with even the 9tonne All-Up Weight (AUW) class Black Hawk, a leading product in
Global market.
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11. 5 points which make this project innovative
Composite Technologies for manufacturing of Blades and
Structural assemblies
Vibration reduction using Anti Resonance Isolation System (ARIS)
/ 2nd generation Active Vibration Control System (AVCS) and
Vibration monitoring using Vibration Monitoring System (VMS)
Co-development of higher powered engine with a French partner.
Glass Cockpit incorporating Multi Function Displays (MFDs),
Control & Display Units (CDUs) and Display & Mission Computers
(DMCs) providing redundancy to on-board operations /
computations.
Incorporation of crashworthy design features.
Hi-efficiency transmission system components development.
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12. 5 points on the operational excellence of the project
All engineering for integrating the weapon system and extensive
ground and flight testing to prove the system were conducted in
India by Indian technical manpower.
Skills and technology of the highest level developed and
assimilated during the course of the integration.
Supply-chain management across international markets
as
weapon system components were to be sourced from globally
established players.
The project was sanctioned in July 2005. A time budget of around
8 years was assessed. The IOC was obtained in Feb 13 (targetNov2013).
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13. Design collaboration/sourcing for rotors which are designed to
have high response control power that translate into good agility
and has got added benefits of excellent handling at high altitudes.
Its maneuverability and high altitude performance is better than
any other helicopter in current Indian Armed Services inventory,
including Attack Helicopters.
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14. 5 points on as to how this project has added to the self reliance
of India in the chosen sector
The Helicopter gunship designed and manufactured in India is a
major step in achieving self reliance in defense as it reduces the
dependence on imported helicopter gunships, support for which
could be denied during times of need.
Indigenous design & manufacturing of Composite Parts, technology
for which is only available in very restricted sources globally.
Indigenous design & manufacturing of Transmission System
Indigenous design & manufacturing of Structural assemblies
In-house capability of Helicopter Analysis
Aerodynamics )
( Stress, Dynamics &
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15. 5 key impacts which this project has made
The Defence services have got a potent platform and easily
maintainable fleet capable of performing in adverse and all-weather
conditions thus reducing dependence on foreign suppliers for this
capability.
Future Helicopter platforms like Light Combat Helicopter ( 5.5 Ton
Class ) , Light Utility Helicopter ( 3 Ton Class ) and Multi Role
Helicopters ( 10 Ton Class ) are built with extension of
technological know-how spin-off from this project.
Design & Development of Rotary Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (RUAV) with mission-control expertise.
Localisation of Technology will help in growth of Military Industrial
landscape in India which is in very nascent stage at present.
Enhanced Export potential of Indian Military machine & hardware.
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16. 5 points which illumines more on the future-readiness of the
project
Absorption of Composite manufacturing technology as composites
will majorly cater to Helicopter Build material in near future.
Expertise gained on Attack- mission management.
Design of Operational Capability in mission mode at rarefied
atmosphere.
Software defined communication /navigation equipment & control.
All weather Flight Control Learnings
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle technology
for
development of
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