Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) MD C.B. Ananthakrishnan, said on the sidelines of Aero India 2023 in Bengaluru, that HAL is trying to push the LCA Tejas deal with Malaysia despite setbacks as there are talks that another participant has been shortlisted by Malaysia.
He informed that talks with Argentina and Egypt regarding LCA Tejas were progressing well. "Egypt has shown interest and we offered them a proposal for LCA-Tejas. Similarly, Argentina has shown interest and there were some leads in the Philippines as well. We have proposed around 15 LCA aircraft to Argentina and around 20 LCAs to Egypt. There are also talks of setting up a local ecosystem in Egypt for the LCA-Tejas," said Ananthakrishnan.
He also said that the recently set up Tumakuru plant by HAL was ready to produce both Kamov and the LUH. "Both LUH and Kamov have good potential and there is no conflict of interest between both the helicopter types. Kamov is through a joint venture whereas LUH is being developed completely by HAL. We have created the capacities for both the helicopter types," he added.
He also informed that the HAL plant at Tumakuru currently has the capacity to produce 30 helicopters which will be raised to 60 helicopters and the aim will be to scale it up to 90 helicopters eventually. "Currently HAL has an order book of around Rs 84,000 crores and has created sufficient capacities and is ready to take further workloads and more projects in the future," said Ananthakrishnan. He said that HAL will continue to strongly focus on enhancing their R&D capabilities plus increasing the indigenisation of their offerings. He said that HAL has been allocating additional funds for R&D and focusing on increasing public-private partnership to develop their products. "The aim will be to enhance the indigenisation factor to around 60 to 65 per cent," he said.
Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated HAL's helicopter factory in Tumakuru, which will focus both on LUH and Kamov helicopters besides the Indian Multi-Role Helicopter (IMRH) in the future. Aviation experts are hopeful that the LUH would revolutionise India’s defence capabilities. Experts point out that the Indian forces need a chopper that can operate at 20,000ft. Such high altitudes pose challenges like the prevalent air density that thins out, allowing only a few rotorcraft in the world to operate.
The ‘two-segmented blade’ adopted for the first time on the LUH rotor system offers a compact folded dimension. It can fold the blades within seven minutes and can also be used in aircraft carriers. It could be a game-changer. However, developing an indigenous engine still remains a challenge. HAL aims to have its own engine in the next five years. Initially, it was thought HAL could use the ALH’s engine (Safran Ardiden 1H1). However, when the LUH was being designed, it was realised that the same engine could not be used. Safran was asking for a huge amount for modification, so HAL went for tendering. Safran won it, but the total cost came down because it was a competitive order. It took Safran more than three years to supply the engine as several specifications such as engine power, rotor capability, hover capability, rudder margin and maneuvering capability had to be addressed.
Though the final order for LUH has not yet come, the Air Force and the Army have given the letter of intent for 12 helicopters (limited series production). Once that is over, the actual order will come in for the remaining helicopters.
