Delivery of first Dhruv NG helicopters to Pawan Hans a big milestone, says HAL CMD as PSU approaches states for civil aviation push

BENGALURU: September 18 is a historic day for India's elite aerospace and defence organisation Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. On Friday, the elite public sector undertaking chairman and managing director Ravi K is going to hand over the first batch of four Dhruv New Generation civil helicopters to Pawan Hans Limited in the presence of Union civil aviation minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu. Defence minister Rajnath Singh and Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal A P Singh will also be present at the ceremony as it is a big day for the Indian Air Force too. The IAF will also get the delivery of the last two Tejas Mk 1 trainer aircraft of the first contact of 40 LCA jets and the long-pending trainer aircraft HTT-40 from HAL on Friday evening.“In the evening, I will be in Bengaluru (Karnataka) to attend the handing over ceremony of LCA Tejas FOC Twin Seater Trainers & HTT 40 Basic Trainer Aircraft to Indian Air Force and Dhruv NG helicopters to Pawan Hans Ltd. Looking forward to it,” defence minister Rajnath Singh said in a morning post on X on Friday.Dhruv NG helicopter is a 5.5-tonne, light twin-engine, multi-role helicopter, which can perform several functions like it can be used for UDAN regional connectivity service, offshore operations, casualty evacuation, tourism, disaster management, underslung cargo, search and rescue, mining and exploration. The Dhruv NG is based on HAL's Advanced Light Helicopter programme and has lots of additional features.With an endurance of 3 hours and 40 minutes and service ceiling of 6,000 metres, Dhruv NG can fly at 285 km/h speed and can carry up to 14 passengers. The first delivery of four Dhruv NG helicopters to Pawan Hans on Friday will also establish HAL as a manufacturer of an advanced civilian helicopter. Pawan Hans had ordered 10 Dhruv NG helicopters in Jan. The remaining six are expected to be delivered by Dec.HAL CMD Ravi K told TOI, “Dhruv NG is a multirole civilian helicopter as it can perform various functions. Key among them are offshore duties as well as medivac. It is a milestone not only for all of us at HAL but also for the country.”HAL is approaching state govts to pitch its Dhruv NG helicopter for civilian applications. According to HAL, most states have shown interest in the civilian helicopter.HAL currently derives around 5% of its turnover from non-military business and the company aims to raise this share to 25% over the next decade. HAL estimates that India could require around 400 such civilian helicopters in the Dhruv NG category in the coming years.