14/07/2021
The Navy has decided to come onboard for India’s most ambitious indigenous helicopter development plan, giving a boost to the project that intends to save a Rs 2 lakh crore import bill for military platforms in the coming years.
The Air Force and Army have already committed to the project and with the Navy now agreeing as well, India could make hundreds of the indigenous medium-lift choppers to serve a variety of roles, from transporting troops to high altitude areas to anti-ship and submarine operations.
The Indian Multi Role Helicopter (IMRH) plan has been progressing on schedule, with scale model testing being completed successfully and the first test flight expected by 2025-26. The next stage where the prototypes are to be built will require a fund infusion for the estimated `10,000 crore project that would replace all Russian origin Mi 8/17s currently in service.
“We expect the helicopters to save a lot of money for the country as we have been relying on imports for such platforms in the past. It would also have export potential once in service with the armed forces,” Hindustan Aeronautics chairman R Madhavan told ET.
The chopper is being custom-built for the forces and the naval version is likely to have bespoke design elements as well. The Naval IMRH is likely to have longer range and payload capacity as it will not be required for high altitude operations.The chopper is likely to have two versions –– an anti surface and submarine role and a mission role. It would also have specialised gear for marine operations, including a sonar and sea scanner radar. While the larger design will be similar to the Air Force and Army version, the Naval role chopper will see significant differences inside the cockpit.
As part of the plan, six prototypes of the IMRH are to be built to prove the concept and for testing by the armed forces. Based on the success of the tests, large service orders will be placed with HAL. The development and certification programme is expected to take seven years from the day work starts on the prototype.
The state-owned entity already has a successful Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) programme in place and is also making a Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) and a Light Utility Helicopter (LUH). As per estimates, the requirement of the Indian armed forces for the IMRH type platform in the next 15 years is expected to cost Rs 2 lakh crore if the current set of choppers are bought again.
The IMRH will have several unique aspects, including a design that will allow it to operate with two different engines so that it does not remain dependent on any one source. The scale of initial investments needed is particularly high as the programme will include multiple destruction tests to prove the sturdiness of the design before it can be certified for military use.
