Indian Defense Forces have temporarily grounded the Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Dhruv in view of the recent accidents. This step has been taken as a precautionary measure to avoid any further accidents. The choppers will stand still for more than a month or two. The decision was complemented by the helicopter crash on 4 May, which claimed the lives of Indian Army personnel.
“In view of the May 4 accident in which an Army jawan lost his life, the operation of ALH Dhruv helicopters has been stopped by the force as a precautionary measure,” ANI quoted defense officials as saying.
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In the May 4 incident, a helicopter crashed in the Kishtwar region of Jammu and Kashmir. The hard landing of the chopper claimed the life of a technician on board, while the two pilots on board were injured. This was the third accident involving ALH Dhruv in the last two months. Earlier, the helicopter has been involved in accidents of Indian Coast Guard and Indian Navy.
Official figures provided by the Ministry of Defense to Parliament show that during the last 20 years, 22 ALHs have crashed and many of them have required multiple emergency landings across the country. According to data from Parliament, six incidents involving ALH were documented between 2017 and 2021.
The indigenously developed Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Dhruv is part of all the three defense forces in India. The twin-engine, multi-role helicopter is a new generation machine in the 5.5-tonne category. Currently, the Indian Defense Forces have 300 units of the helicopter. Apart from India, Dhruv helicopters are also part of Nepal Army, Mauritius Police and Maldives Army.
The major variants of the indigenously developed helicopter are Mk-I conventional cockpit, Mk-II and Mk-III glass cockpit, Mk-III marine role (Navy/Coast Guard) and Mk-IV armed variant.