HAL RUDRA

 Rudra is an attack helicopter manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), for the Indian Army. It is the Weapon System Integrated (WSI) Mk-IV variant of the Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH). Rudra is the first armed helicopter being produced indigenously in India.The HAL Rudra helicopter can be deployed in wide range of missions, including reconnaissance, troop transport, anti-tank warfare and close air support.HAL was contracted to deliver about 76 Rudra ALH Mk-IV helicopters for the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force. The Indian Army plans to equip its Army Aviation Corps with 60 helicopters, forming six squadrons. HAL handed over the first Rudra helicopter to the Indian Army in February 2013.

Development for the WSI variant was authorised in December 1998. The prototype made its first flight in August 2007. Rudra completed a final round of weapon firing trials in September 2011. The 20mm turreted gun was tested during these trials.The Mistral air-to-air missiles and 70mm rockets were tested on Rudra in November 2011. Mistral is an infrared homing missile, which is capable of striking the targets within a range of 6.5km. The ground tests for the first production helicopter were concluded in September 2012.HAL Rudra Mk-IV received initial operational clearance (IOC) from Centre for Military Airworthiness and Certification (CEMILAC) in February 2013. The helicopter was displayed for the first time at Aero India 2013 show.

HAL Rudra incorporates a conventional design. Carbon fibre composite materials have been used in construction to achieve weight reduction. The twin engines mounted above the cabin are attached to a four-blade composite main rotor. The cockpit is made of Kevlar and carbon-fibre materials.Rudra has a length of 15.8m, main rotor diameter of 13.2m and a height of 4.9m. The maximum take-off weight of the helicopter is 5,500kg. Rudra can carry a payload of 2,600kg.The advanced glass cockpit of Rudra houses crash-worthy seats for accommodating two crew members. The night vision goggle (NVG) compatible cockpit is equipped with multifunction displays, dual flight controls and automatic flight control system.The avionics suite integrates a global positioning system, FLIR, HF/UHF communications radio, Infrared Friend or Foe (IFF) identification system, Doppler navigation and a radio altimeter. The electro-optic pod, helmet-mounted sight and fixed sights ensure the pilots can accurately engage targets using onboard weapons.

The HAL Rudra helicopter is powered by two HAL / Turbomeca Ardiden 1H1 (Shakti) turboshaft engines. Each engine delivers a maximum continuous power of 1,067kW. The operation of the engines is controlled by full authority digital engine control (FADEC) system. The helicopter has a fixed-type metal skid landing gear. The tail section features a tail skid to protect the tail rotor during tail-down landings.The helicopter has a maximum continuous speed of 270km/h. The never exceed speed of the helicopter is 300km/h. Rudra can fly at a maximum altitude of 20,000ft and can climb at a rate of 10.3m/s. It has a range of 660km

CHETAK HELICOPTER

The Chetak Multipurpose Helicopter is an improved version of Alouette III and was awarded civil airworthiness certificate on 12 Dec 1961. It has a tricycle type undercarriage and can carry seven passengers including the pilots. The Helicopter Division manufactures the versatile and Multipurpose Chetak Helicopters for Civil and Military applications both for Domestic and International customers. The Chetak Helicopter is a multi-role, seven seater Helicopter, spacious and simple in design, the Chetak is highly maneuverable and well suited to flying over sea, tropical and desert conditions.An important component of carrier operations is a helicopter which can be used for various purposes such as search-and-rescue operations when a plane-guard ship is not available, reconnaissance, anti-submarine warfare, and antiship operations using torpedoes and short-range missiles. 

With the finalisation of the acquisition of the Vikrant, the requirement of helicopters for the Fleet Air Arm was projected to the French naval authorities. The Alouette II, Bell G2 and Bell G3 helicopters were found to be superior to the British Dragonfly helicopters which had been offered by the Admiralty. The Alouette II was more reliable than the Dragonfly, was cheaper and had been fitted with gas turbine engines which would obviate the necessity of storing petrol on board, as was required for the Dragonfly. It was decided to acquire the latest version of the Alouette helicopter, the Alouette III, from Sud Aviation, France and the first two helicopters arrived in mid -1964 in crates. These were assembled by the Navy's air engineers with the assistance of a French technician at Cochin and embarked on the Vikrant in July 1964.

The Alouette III helicopter which was later converted to its new avatar, Chetak, the Medium -range Antisubmarine Torpedo Carrying Helicopter (MATCH). This helicopter was equipped with antisubmarine weapons comprising two depth-charges or two antisubmarine torpedoes or a mix of the two and was indigenously manufactured by the Hindustan Aircraft limited, Bangalore for operating off the deck of carriers as well as smaller ships such as tankers, frigates, destroyers and even survey ships. Equipped with folding blades, this helicopter was powered by a 8,700-shaft-horse-power turbine and had an endurance of 25 hours, with a maximum speed of 113 knots. It had a crew of three-pilot, copilot and an aircrew in rescue operations at sea.

The Chetak (SE 316 Alouette III) helicopter is a single engine turbine driven helicopter. It is a high performance all purpose all weather aircraft. It is an improved version of Alouette III and was awarded civil airworthiness certificate in 12 Dec 1961. It was originally manufactured in France. They are overhauled in India by M/s HAL Ltd. at their Bangalore division.The Chetak features a single lifting rotor and antitorque tail rotor powered by a turbine engine. It can carry seven passengers including the pilots. It can be used for transportation of passengers casualty/evacuation, rescue, cargo carrying, reconnaissance weapon carrying and can land and take off snow or water with appropriate equipment installed.The chopper can be effectively deployed for a variety of civil and military roles that include communication, rescue, aerial survey, cargo and passenger transport and combat. Armed with missiles and torpedoes, it also caters to the exacting requirements of anti submarine and anti tank warfare. The automatic starting system gives the Chetak an uncommon instant start capability cutting down the time from start to take off to less than a minute. With an all up weight of 2200 kg it can cruise at 1 85 kmph covering a range of 500 km and has endurance of 3.40 hours.

An important component of carrier operations is a helicopter which can be used for various purposes suchassearch-and-rescue operations when a plane-guard ship is not available, reconnaissance, antisubmarine warfare, and antiship operations using torpedoes and short-range missiles. With the finalisation of the acquisition of the Vikrant, the requirement of helicopters for the Fleet Air Arm was projected to the French naval authorities.In 1986 the Government of India formally constituted the Army's Aviation Corps and most Chetak and Cheetahs were transferred from the Air Force on 1st November 1986. The Air Force continued to fly armed Chetaks in the anti-tank role as well as for casualty evacuation (CASEVAC) and general duties while the lighter Cheetah is operated for Forward Area Control (FAC) flights.

Artouste III B Engine powers both Cheetah and Chetak helicopters. The engine manufacture commenced in 1962 under licence from Turbomeca, France. The engine has side air intake, one axial and one centrifugal compressor connected to a three stage turbine. The power output is 550 SHP at 33500 RPM. The reduction gear box in the front transfers the power to helicopter. More than 665 engines have been manufactured and 2950 engines overhauled & repaired for various customers. Main Characteristics Maximum diameter (m) 0.50 Length (m) 1.815 Weight (kg) 182 Power 550 Specific fuel consumption (kg / shp-hr) 0.346

In the early 1980s, HAL indicated that they were considering discontinuing the production of Chetak helicopters. Since the production of the replacement ALHs would take considerable time, HAL continued production. A total of 85 Chetaks had been inducted into the Navy till 2002, of which 19 have been lost, leaving 66 in service.As of 2005, the HAL Chetak was scheduled to be replaced by the Dhruv ALH. As an alternative, the Chetak could be re-engined with the Turbomeca TM 333-2B engine. The Chetak was originally powered by Turbomeca's Artouste IIIB engine. The first test flight of the upgraded Chetak, dubbed "Chetan", was carried out in February 2005. According to Turbomeca, a minimum of 200 Chetak helicopters could be upgraded. A similar option exists to re-engine the HAL Cheetah to the Cheetal variant using the TM 333-2B engine as well.

CHEETAH HELICOPTER

CHEETAH UTILITY HELICOPTER

Cheetah combines in it the advantageous constructional features of Alouette II & III with design changes to fit in the role of an aircraft of light weight, increased pay load and high altitude performance capability. It was awarded civil airworthiness certificate on 21 Jan 1972. It can carry five passengers including the pilots and has a skid type undercarriage. The Alouette II, with the dynamics including powerplant of the Alouette Ill was specifically developed to meet the Indian Army's stringent requirement and was christened Lama by the French (and Cheetah by the Indians). The SA-315B licence-agreement was signed in September 1970. First Cheetah manufactured from raw materials was delivered in 1976-77.

These helicopters can be used for transportation of passengers, causality evacuation, rescue, cargo carrying, reconnaissance, weapon carrying and can land and take off from snow or water, with appropriate equipment installed. For army support, a wide range of armaments can be fitted like a fixed swiveling cannon, machine guns, and rocket launchers. For navy, it is advantageous since it can be operated from small decks or small platforms for convey protection and coastal patrol duties.

In the initial stages of helicopter manufacturing, except for the assembly departments, all other shops were common with those of Aircraft Division. Consequent to the re-organisation of the Bangalore Complex, a separate division was evolved for the manufacture of helicopters, established in July 1970 and the new buildings of the Helicopter Division inaugurated by the then President of India, V.V.Giri on 17 July 1974.Over the next twenty years, HAL's Helicopter Division produced hundreds of Chetak and Cheetah helicopters for the Indian Air Force, Navy, Army and Coast Guard as also for a number of civilian customers, including State Governments while a score or more were exported. The Division has produced 336 Chetak and 246 Cheetah Helicopters so far and overhauled more than 200 helicopters of both the types. It has also undertaken the Cat 'B' repairs of more than 75 helicopters and put them back into operation.

Artouste III B Engine powers both Cheetah and Chetak helicopters. The engine manufacture commenced in 1962 under licence from Turbomeca, France. The engine has side air intake, one axial and one centrifugal compressor connected to a three stage turbine. The power output is 550 SHP at 33500 RPM. The reduction gear box in the front transfers the power to helicopter. More than 665 engines have been manufactured and 2950 engines overhauled & repaired for various customers.The Cheetal is a hybrid machine - having the airframe of Cheetah and an engine of the ALH. This newer version of the Cheetah helicopter which is manufactured under licence by HAL and has a more powerful TM 333 2B2 Snecma engine instead of the original Artouste-IIIB power plant. The project made headlines in 2004 when a prototype made the world's highest landing at the 25,000 feet Sasir Kangri peak. Hit by a delay of over two years - the initial deadline was 2006 - the first helicopter finally joined the Leh-based 114 "Siachen Pioneers" Helicopter Unit in late 2008 and would gradually replace all the Cheetah helicopters.

AGNI 1 MISSILE

India  successfully  test-fired nuclear capable  surface-to-surface Agni I missile for its full range of 700 km from Wheeler Island, off  the  Odisha coast. The single-stage, solid-fuelled missile was launched  from a road mobile launcher by personnel of  the Strategic Forces Command (SFC) as part of a regular training exercise. It was a text-book launch and the missile, carrying a dummy payload weighing one tonne, splashed down near the pre-designated target point with double-digit accuracy, a top Defence Research and Development Organisation scientist said.It was the 11th launch of Agni-1, and the on-board computer and the inertial navigation system steered the missile towards its target.Agni-1 was developed by DRDO missile technologists in a short span of 15 months after the need for it was perceived by the defence services following the Kargil conflict.

The Agni missile (Sanskrit: अग्नि, Agnī, "fire" and also the Hindu god of fire) is a family of medium to intercontinental range ballistic missiles developed by India, named after one of the five elements of nature. The first missile of the series, Agni-I was developed under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Program and tested 1991. After its success, Agni missile program was separated from the IGMDP upon realizing its strategic importance. It was designated as a special program in India's defence budget and provided adequate funds for subsequent development. As of 2008, the Agni missile family comprises three deployed variants while two more variants are under testing:The two-stage Agni technology demonstrator, with a solid-fuel first stage, was first tested at the Interim Test Range in Chandipur in 1989. It was capable of carrying a conventional payload of 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) or a nuclear warhead. This original technology demonstrator evolved into the solid-fuel Agni-1 and Agni-2 missiles. India first developed the two-stage 2000 km range Agni-2, testing it in 1999. It then used the first stage of this system to develop the 700 km range single-stage Agni-1, which was first tested in January 2002.Weighing 12 tonne with a length of 15 metres, Agni-1 has a range of 700--1250 kmand is capable of carrying a conventional payload of 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) or a nuclear warhead at a speed of 2.5 km/s. Agni missiles consist of one (short range) or two stages (intermediate range). These are rail and road mobile and powered by solid propellants. Agni-I is used by the Strategic Force Command (SFC) of the Indian Army.On 13 July 2012, India test fired Agni I successfully at Wheeler Island off Orissa coast.

     

The Agni-1 strategic ballistic missile was test fired by the Strategic Forces Command (SFC) of the Indian Army with logistic support from the state-run DRDO. DRDO officials indicated that the last trial of the Agni-I missile was successfully carried out in November last year. Although already inducted into the Armed Forces, user trials Agni-1 missile will be executed to keep improving the skills of the defence personnel.
With the 700 kilometer range Agni-1 missile, India will fill the gap between Prithvi and Agni II missiles with ranges of 250 kilometers and 2,500 kilometers. Agni missiles have four variations with missiles ranging from 700 kilometer to the latest 3,500 kilometer-range Agni-IV missile. Basically, the Agni-1 missile is a scaled-down version of Agni-II, which has two stages. Agni-II's first stage was re-configured to become Agni-I intermediate range missile. The nuclear-capable Agni-I ballistic missile was developed by Advanced Systems Laboratory (ASL), the premier missile development laboratory of the DRDO. The collaborators in this project included Defence Research Development Laboratory (DRDL) and Research Centre Imarat (RCI) while the missile was integrated by Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL). The Agni-I missile is 15 metres tall with one metre diameter and a weight of 12 tonnes. It is a single-stage vehicle powered by solid propellants and can carry a one-tonne nuclear warhead. Agni-I missile has a specialized navigation system which ensures it reaches the target with a high degree of accuracy.   Indian missile technology is surely coming of age with rapid tests and development of missiles in the recent past. The test-firing of Agni-1 missile was the fifth success in a row since a series of missiles were launched from September this year including the test-flights of Shourya, Prithvi-II,  Agni-II and Agni-IV missiles. DRDO is all set to launch the Agni-V inter-continental ballistic missile soon. Other significant DRDO achievements include the creation of the tactical Prahar missile with a 150 kilometres range as well as a successful Ballistic Missile Defence system.