Hindustan-228 aircraft.
Credit: HAL
Bengaluru: Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) will showcase its indigenous civil platforms, the Hindustan-228 aircraft and the Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Dhruv upgraded civil helicopter during Wings India 2024, to be held from January 18 to 21 in Hyderabad.
The upgraded civil Dhruv helicopter is a variant of ALH. The 5.5-ton, twin-engine helicopter designed and developed by HAL comes with multiple utilities in disaster management, search and rescue operations, underslung roles, heli-tourism, VIP ferry etc. The helicopter has an advanced glass cockpit and avionics and would meet the regional connectivity programme of the union government, HAL said.
The Hindustan-228, a multi-purpose, lightweight twin turboprop aircraft indigenously developed by HAL, caters to remote regional connectivity on short-haul air routes under the government's regional connectivity scheme, UDAN.
It can also be configured for multiple roles – regional airliner/air taxi, VIP/executive transport, search and rescue operations, casualty evacuation/ambulance, cargo and logistics support, calibration of airport nav-aids, geographical surveys, aerial photography, etc. The aircraft cockpit is upgraded with a fully digital glass cockpit, upgraded avionics and systems.
The defence PSU is also developing a civil variant of the Light Utility Helicopter (LUH). It plans to build the civil prototype with the DGCA certification by December 2025.
C B Ananthakrishnan, CMD (Additional Charge), HAL, said the company is propelling the Made-in-India initiative with its fixed-wing civil aircraft to boost regional connectivity.
“The company is leveraging its strengths in manufacturing aircraft like Do-228 and HS-748 and extending its capabilities to civil aircraft programmes like the Regional Transport Aircraft. HAL is also actively pursuing collaborations for undertaking civil MRO activities,” he said.
The HAL stall at the event venue, the Begumpet Airport in Hyderabad, will display scale models of LUH (civil variant), Hindustan-228, ALH (civil variant), and accessories of civil aircraft.