Kathmandu, Nov 25 Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday handed over the indigenous Advance Light Helicopter (ALH) Dhruv to his Nepalese counterpart Sushil Koirala here for use by the Nepal Army.
Built by the state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) in Bengaluru, the multi-utility chopper’s mark-3 version is fitted with Shakti engines, advanced glass cockpit and avionics.
Modi is in Kathmandu to attend the two-day Saarc (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) summit starting Wednesday.
Saarc is an economic and geopolitical organisation of eight countries in South Asia.
“The advanced version is suited for Nepal as the Himalayan kingdom is located in the hazardous mountainous terrain and faces adverse weather conditions,” HAL said in a statement.
The defence behemoth HAL had sold two Dhruv copters to the Nepalese army in November 2013.
“Dhruv mark-3 version is in line with our prime minister’s thrust on ‘Make in India’ campaign and the government’s policy towards the neighbourhood,” HAL chairman R.K. Tyagi said.
Designed to meet requirements of military and civil operators, Dhruv has been exported to Ecuador, the Maldives and Mauritius.
“Ecuador Air Force operates five Dhruv copters and Ecuador President flies in one of them,” the statement said.
As a multi-role, multi-mission new generation helicopter in 5.5-tonne weight class, Dhruv meets the US Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR) specifications.
“The all-weather Dhruv, with capacity to carry up to 16 people at 10,000 feet altitude, has demonstrated its capability in long distance flights, vertical climb and manoeuvring,” the statement added.
Dhruv is operated by Indian Air Force, the army, the navy, Coast Guard, the Border Security Force and state governments since 2002.
About 140 Dhruv copters are in operation and have logged over 120,900 flight hours since a decade.
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