Bangalore: ALH Dhruv handed over to Maldives

The Dhruv advanced light helicopter (ALH) designed and produced indigenously by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) was handed over to the Maldivian defence forces on Saturday. RK Tyagi, chairman, said the ALH would be in the Maldivian capital of Male at the beginning of the New Year.

“We are proud that ALH handed over to Maldives is `Made in India’ with proven track record in both military and civil operations”, he added.

A HAL technical support team is positioned at Gan, Maldives to provide maintenance and logistic support. Dhruv has also been exported to Ecuador, Mauritius, Nepal. The Ecuador Air Force (FAE) operates six Dhruv helicopters with their president choosing to fly in one of them. Dhruv is extremely useful in meeting the arduous tasks in difficult terrains.

It played a key role in search and rescue operations during the 2004 tsunami, the 2010 flash floods at Leh, the 2011 earthquake in Sikkim and the biggest ever rescue operation by helicopters undertaken by IAF in flood & rain-hit areas of Uttarakhand.  Dhruv is being operated by Indian Air Force, Indian Army, Indian Navy, Coast Guard, BSF and state governments since 2002.  More than 130 Dhruv helicopters serve the Indian Defence Forces.

HAL has also built 12 civil variant Dhruvs that are used by its customers. Dhruv is an all-weather helicopter which can carry 10-16 people at heights of 10,000 feet. It is a multi-role, multi-mission new generation helicopter in 5.5 tonne weight class and meets Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR) specifications. It has demonstrated its capability in long distance flights, vertical climb and manoeuvring.