The Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Dhruv fleet of the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard (ICG), which was out of action following a few crashes in the recent years, will soon see manufacturing modifications to one of the key components.
According to a report in The Indian Express, the Dhruv fleet of the Navy and ICG will be delivered in batches after modifications to the Non-Rotating Swashplate Bearing (NRSB) of the helicopters.
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A fracture in the NRSB caused the Coast Guard Dhruv crash on January 5, near Porbandar, leading to a fleet-wide grounding. The Defect Investigation Committee, which was probing the crash, called for a manufacturing process improvement of the NRSB of the helicopters to boost their fatigue life. The investigation committee had found that this defect was specific to naval and ICG variants of Dhruv, linked to corrosive saline exposure and deck landing stresses.
NRSB is located within the swashplate assembly and transmits flight control inputs to adjust the pitch of the main rotor blades, enabling lift, direction changes, and stability of the aircraft.
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The Indian Express report said 28 Dhruv helicopters of the Indian Navy and ICG will undergo the modifications in the next six months before being cleared for flying.
The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is yet to comment on the matter.
Earlier this year, HAL chairman and MD D.K. Sunil had said that the preliminary investigation suggested that the crash was caused due to a fracture in the swashplate of the helicopter, and the Defect Investigation Team would submit its report later, following which a decision on resuming operations would be taken. He had asserted that there was no fault with the design of the ALH.
More than 340 Dhruv helicopters have been produced by HAL. ALH Dhruv is also operated by the Mauritius Police and Nepal Army apart from Indian Armed Forces.
