HAL to showcase indigenous civil platforms to boost regional connectivity

HAL will showcase its indigenous civil platforms, including the Hindustan-228 aircraft and the upgraded ALH Dhruv helicopter, during Wings India 2024 in Hyderabad.

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) will showcase its indigenous civil platforms Hindustan-228 aircraft and the Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Dhruv upgraded civil helicopter during Wings India 2024, to be held from January 18 to 21 in Hyderabad.

The upgraded civil Dhruv helicopter is a variant of ALH. The 5.5-ton, twin-engine helicopter designed and developed by HAL comes with multiple utilities in disaster management, search and rescue operations, underslung roles, heli-tourism, VIP ferry among others, the aerospace and defence major said, adding that it has an advanced glass cockpit and avionics and would meet the regional connectivity programme of the union government.

The Hindustan-228, a multi-purpose, lightweight twin turboprop aircraft indigenously developed by HAL, caters to remote regional connectivity on short-haul air routes under the government’s regional connectivity scheme, UDAN (Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik). The aircraft, type certified by Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) can be configured for variety of roles including regional airliner/air taxi, VIP/executive transport, search and rescue, casualty evacuation/ambulance, cargo and logistics support, calibration of airport nav-aids, geographical surveys and aerial photography among others.

 “HAL is propelling the initiative of ‘Made in India’ fixed-wing civil aircraft to boost regional connectivity in India. The company is leveraging its strengths in manufacturing aircraft like Do-228 and HS-748 and extending its capabilities to civil aircraft programmes like the regional transport aircraft,” said HAL’s chairman and managing director (additional charge) C. B. Ananthakrishnan. It is also actively pursuing collaborations for undertaking civil MRO activities, he added.

HAL will be present at stall 25 of hall A during the show, where it will display scale models of LUH (civil variant), Hindustan-228, ALH (civil variant), Line Replaceable Units (LRUs) and accessories for civil aircraft and hold business meetings with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and customers besides signing agreements with its business partners for various project

HAL is also developing a civil variant of the light utility helicopter, which it expects to conclude by December 2025.