We all
follow a custom that if anyone invites us to their homes for a
function or even for lunch or dinner, we take with us some gift as a
token of our appreciation for the invitation. If the invitation is
just for a meal, usually a side dish or a sweet is presented to the
host.
At the
recently concluded meeting of SAARC or South Asia Association for
regional cooperation held in Nepal, India's prime minister took along
a novel gift that would be much appreciated by the host country. The
country was presented an helicopter by India as a token of good will.
The helicopter that was presented was the indegeneously made-
Advanced Light Helicopter Dhruv.
Dhruv
is an utility helicopter developed and manufactured by India's
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited in Bengaluru. The helicopter first flew
in 1992; however, its further development was prolonged and slow due
to several factors such as design changes, budget restrictions, and
sanctions placed on India following the 1998 nuclear tests. It
entered into service in 2002 and caters for both civil and military
customers.
Besides
military service, it is being used by number of civil operators like
Ministry of Home Affairs,Oil and Natural Gas Corporation,
Chhattisgarh State Government, Jharkhand State Government and
Geological Survey of India. It is also being used by a few other
countries like Equador, Turkey and Surinam. For Nepal, Dhruv is no
stranger because it had purchased two Dhruv helicopters in 2004
itself. Till 2014, about 200 Dhruv helicopters have been
manufactured.
In
2013, Dhruv became the hero of the large-scale rescue operations led
by the Armed Forces during the Uttarakhand floods. Its compact size,
agility, ability to carry up to 16 people to heights of 10,000 feet,
and to evacuate stranded people from inaccessible regions was much
praised. It could carry more people from high-altitude helipads than
the heavier Mi-17, and land where the lighter Bell 407 could not.
During these operations, the total flight time put in by these
helicopters was 630 hours, out of which 550 hours were dedicated to
search and rescue missions.
Prime
minister of India took the decision to present this helicopter
earlier this month. It is creditable that Hindustan Aeronautics
helicopter unit readied the copter at its Bengaluru unit in 14 days.
The copter reached Kathmandu on November 22. The helicopter supplied
is of the latest Mark III version with Fitted with Shakti engines, a
modern glass cockpit and avionics. This Mk-III version with Shakti
engines has very good high altitude performance operating at
altitudes over 6 km. It comes with seating for 14 fully equipped
troops.
The
first versions of the helicopter; Mark I and Mark II were equipped
with Turbomeca TM 333-2B2 turboshaft engines and were not able to fly
above 5000 ft. height. The new version is capable of flying up to
8000 ft.
The
5.5-tonne helicopter will benefit Nepal with its mountainous terrain
and harsh environmental conditions. A technical team is positioned in
Kathmandu to help with maintenance and logistics support.
One
country that must be most interested in this gift would be another
SAARC member country Afghanistan. It was reported in 2013 that it was
getting 3 helicopters for its army sometime in 2014, though it is not
known whether it actually received them.
27th
November 2014
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