Certain metallurgical, design issues identified in Dhruv choppers

Certain design and metallurgy issues in some components have been identified as probable flaws in the indigenously-developed Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) following a detailed scrutiny of the choppers, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

The flaws are being fixed, they said.

The scrutiny was carried in view of a string of accidents involving the platform that had forced the Army and the Indian Air Force (IAF) to ground their fleets.

The choppers that were grounded resumed their operations following completion of the safety audit.

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The Indian Navy, the IAF, the Army and the Coast Guard have a total of over 325 ALH Dhruv helicopters and all of them underwent technical checks following the incidents of accidents.

Certain design and metallurgy issues in some components have been identified as probable flaws during investigations into the recent incidents involving the choppers, the people cited above said.

The ALH Dhruv helicopters are designed and developed by state-run aerospace major Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.

The ALH Dhruv is a twin engine, multi-role, multi-mission helicopter in the 5.5 tonne weight class.

The certification of the utility military variant was completed in 2002 and that of the civil variant was completed in 2004.

The deliveries of production series helicopters commenced from 2001-02 onwards.