HAL Selects Airborne Navigation System For Light Utility Helicopter Program

India’s Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has chosen L-3 Aviation’s L-3AP Tactical Airborne Navigation System (TACAN+) for its new Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) program.

The TACAN+ transceiver is a small tactical airborne navigation system used for tracking up to four ground stations simultaneously within its range.

The system can be installed on rotary- and fixed-wing platforms for use in air-to-air and air-to-ground applications.   HAL developed the new LUH to accommodate the reconnaissance and utility rotorcraft needs of the Indian Air Force (IAF) and Indian Army.

The company has scheduled the first LUH prototype, the PT-1, to commence test flights later this year, and anticipates initial operational clearance in 2017. HAL expects to begin deliveries to the IAF and Indian Army by the end of 2017, with production taking place near Bengaluru. HAL expects to produce approximately 50 helicopters annually.