In the first days of February, during the biennial AeroIndia 2021 exhibition, it was announced that the army version of the Light Utility Helicopter (LUH), designed locally by the state aeronautical conglomerate HAL, reached Initial Operational Capability (IOC) status.
The LUH is a lightweight (3T), single-engine, developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the civil and commercial market. Powered by a Turbomeca / Safran Ardiden-1H 800kW, produced in India under license, the LUH can reach altitudes of more than 6,500 meters to carry out relocation, rescue, or observation missions in the Himalayas.
The requirement that gave birth to the model was the need for the Indian Armed Forces to replace the old Aerospatiale Lama and Alouette-III, produced under license in large numbers under the names Cheetah and Chetak, respectively.
In total, there is an assured requirement for 187 of these for the Air Force and Army combined, or 384 if the plan to purchase 197 Kamov Ka-226s to supplement them does not move forward. The Ka-226 was the winner of the Indian competition to incorporate a light helicopter to replace its Chetak and Cheetah, but the Indian Government signature of the final contract is 5 years due. It appears that they were avoiding starting another licensed production of a foreign aircraft and stalling until they get the LUH project mature enough.
As reported by The Times of India, the certification process involving ground testing, internal system testing, flight testing, including testing in hot and cold climates at high altitudes, was successfully concluded.
