Hindustan Aeronautics Limited eyes civil helicopter market with its Dhruv-NG

HAL's Dhruv-NG helicopter secures first civil contract, poised for major growth in domestic and international markets.

With the civil variant of the indigenous Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) getting its first contract recently, officials said they are looking at the steady expansion of demand for this helicopter in the civil aviation space.

In April, State-owned Pawan Hans Limited had offered four HAL-made Dhruv-NG helicopters for the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation’s offshore operations in its successful bid for ONGC’s global tender valued over ₹2,141 crore, for a period of 10 years. It was officially awarded the contract earlier this month.

The civil helicopter segment in the country is still fairly small but is set to see major expansion in the next 10 to 15 years, an official noted. The Dhruv-NG, with its successful evolution in the military segment, has good potential to take advantage of this trend, being well-positioned to grab a major share of the domestic market while also having immense potential for exports. “Dhruv-NG won against a global tender competing with other established players and helicopters,” the official pointed out.

The military version of the helicopter has generated significant interest among many developing countries and discussions are underway with some, a second official said, adding that the civil version, if pitched right, can be a similar success.

The 5.5 tonne Dhruv-NG is a multi-role, multi-mission helicopter, capable of day and night operations. It is powered by two indigenous Shakti engines with Cat ’A’ performance and is also fitted with AS4 (Applicability Statement)-compliant systems to meet ONGC’s offshore operational requirements, officials said.

Notifying the award on December 14, ONGC announced that PHL had been given the contract for charter hiring of four crew change task helicopters under the category Group-I for a helicopter with a maximum all-up-weight up to 7,000 kgs, with a minimum of 11 seats plus two seats for the pilots, for its offshore operations. “The Contractor (PHL) has to mobilise four numbers ‘Dhruv ALH Mk-III civil’ helicopters which should be Factory New (‘factory new’’ means newly built helicopter by OEM and shall commence its first commercial flying under this ONGC contract),” the notification said.

The contractor has to confirm the serial numbers of the helicopters within 30 days of the notification, failing which the contract is liable to be terminated and bank guarantees submitted shall be forfeited, it added. “The charter hire period for each Helicopter shall be 10 years from the date of actual mobilisation of the respective helicopter,” ONGC said.