India's HAL Marks First Flight of Advanced Light Helicopter Wheeled Version

Wheeled version of the Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) developed by India's Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) took to the skies for the first time June 30.

"The first flight of Advanced Light Helicopter (Wheeled Version) with segmented MRBs (Main Rotor Blades) and MRH (Main Rotor Head) in pre-cone configuration was carried out in Bengaluru," HAL said in a Twitter post June 30.

The two-segmented MRBs and pre-cone configuration of MRH are developed to address the stringent stowage dimension requirement specified by Indian Navy.The two-segmented MRBs and pre-cone configuration of MRH are developed to address the stringent stowage dimension requirement specified by Indian Navy. This to improve the time-between-overhauls (TBO) life of the main gear box, HAL said.

On completion of mandated ground testing of various factors, the prototype helicopter was built with ‘Segmented Pre-Cone MRBs’ and ‘Pre-Cone MRH’. The RTB runs, Ground Resonance test and Clamped Power Ground Run were carried out to be found satisfactory.

Indian Navy and Coast Guard have been operating ALH for the last 18 years supporting their operations for various missions. However, the ship deck-based operations of ALH have been limited as the stowage size required for ALH exceeds the hanger sizes available in Navy ships. Segmented blade feature reduces the folded length and width of ALH making it compatible with the hangar space available on most of the Indian Navy ships.