Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is expected to get a major boost, with the Indian Air Force announcing a Rs 50,000 crore order for 83 LCA Tejas Mk1s in next two months. The upgraded Mk1s, with advanced Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radars and electronic warfare equipment, will be deployed on the IAF frontline bases, which face a crisis of depleting combat strength. But, the first aircraft will take at least three years to fly.
"We have responded to the request for proposal (RFP). Price bids are with the ministry and the process is expected to conclude in the next two months,” Chairman and managing director of HAL, R. Madhavan, claimed.
Speaking at AeroIndia 2019, Yelahanka, the HAL chief expressed hope that they can expand their production capacity. "We plan to deliver 16 LCAs to the IAF by the end of the year. The remaining four will be delivered next year, as we have increased the production capacity with an upfront investment of Rs 1,380 crore in our Bengaluru complex," Madhavan said.
Madhavan repeatedly defended HAL's financial situation, asserting that it was very stable. He avoided all questions on Rafale controversy. On Congress president Rahul Gandhi's allegations that HAL has been ignored in the Rafale offset contract, Madhavan said, "We are not ignored. If we were ignored, we would not be getting the orders."
Delayed payments from the IAF had landed the once debt-free Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd in a tight spot. HAL’s dues have ballooned to Rs 20,000 crore, crippling its ability to carry out day-to-day operations. Its financial woes had given ammunition to the opposition, which targeted the Narendra Modi government for having bypassed the public sector company to award offsets related to the Rafale deal to Anil Ambani’s Reliance.
But, the company's director of finance, C. Ananthakrishnan, claimed that financial results show signs of recovery and increased profitability. However, he admitted there were issues with cash flows that led the company to take a short-term loan. He said that the "issue is being sorted out and that the company has tweaked cash credit limits."
Meanwhile, the Army Chief General Bipin Rawat took a 30-minute sortie in the LCA Tejas at the Aero India air show. Seated behind the pilot in a two-seater trainer variant of LCA Tejas, Rawat thanked IAF chief B.S. Dhanoa for making it happen. Later, Rawat took a ride in the Light Combat Helicopter (LCH).
LCH is a 5.5 ton combat helicopter designed and developed by HAL. It is powered by two Shakti engines and inherits many technical features of the Advanced Light Helicopter. The features that are unique to the LCH are its sleek and narrow fuselage, self-sealing fuel tanks, armor protection and features aiding it in low visibility conditions, which makes it agile and survivable.
The helicopter would have day/night targeting systems for the crew, including the helmet-mounted sight and electro-optical sensor pod, consisting of CCD camera/FLIR/Laser Range Finder(LRF)/Laser Designator(LD). The LCH is fitted with self-protection suite consisting of radar/laser missile warning systems and countermeasures-dispensing system. LCH received the Initial Operation Clearance (IOC) on August 26, 2017, in the presence of the defence minister.
Produced by HAL, LCH has the distinction of being the first attack helicopter to land in Forward Bases at Siachen, 4700mts above sea level. Request for quotation (RFQ) for a limited series of 15 aircrafts was received on December 22, 2017, and quotation has been submitted on March 15, 2018.
