Airframe separation trials would need to be done but it could be an option.
HAL LUH / RSH Helicopter: News and Discussions
- Thread starter Ashwin
- Start date
-
- Tags
- hal kamov light helicopter luh
Can you update us on Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) programme?
I have got 12 protype LUH already. The overall requirement is 187. There are two to three issues of flight control and engine condition on landing since it’s a single engine aircraft. These two issues, we are fairly confident of resolving it by December. But helicopter per se is really, really very good. I have flown in that and the. vibrations are less. Even the cabin space is such that I can put two stretchers in that. No helicopter can accommodate two stretchers. So, I’m seeing a very good market for LUH.
www.thehindubusinessline.com
I have got 12 protype LUH already. The overall requirement is 187. There are two to three issues of flight control and engine condition on landing since it’s a single engine aircraft. These two issues, we are fairly confident of resolving it by December. But helicopter per se is really, really very good. I have flown in that and the. vibrations are less. Even the cabin space is such that I can put two stretchers in that. No helicopter can accommodate two stretchers. So, I’m seeing a very good market for LUH.
“LCA delays, engine deals shape HAL’s growth roadmap”: Ravi K, HAL CMD
HAL CMD Ravi K discusses LCA Tejas delays, GE engine co-production, and future aerospace programs amidst fiscal challenges.
Light utility helicopter enters final stages of certification: Officials
By Rahul Singh | Hindustan Times | Updated October 13, 2026, 20:32 IST
The indigenously developed Light Utility Helicopter (LUH), critical to meeting the operational requirements of the Indian Army and Indian Air Force, has entered the final stages of certification and mission equipment integration, officials familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
The LUH will replace the ageing Cheetah and Chetak helicopters, whose safety records have been blemished by a series of crashes.
Once the Centre for Military Airworthiness and Certification (CEMILAC) clears the helicopter for induction into service, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) aims to deliver the first 12 limited series production LUHs to the Army and IAF in FY 2027–28, officials said.
“Some improvements are underway to boost the helicopter’s performance and operational capability. Flight testing and certification activities for these enhancements are currently in an advanced stage for issuance of a ‘military type certificate’ by CEMILAC for the LUH’s induction into service,” said one of the officials.
### Flight trials
Ongoing flight trials are focused on refining the helicopter’s autorotation characteristics and integrating an automatic flight control system (AFCS) to reduce pilot workload and improve lateral stability, among other things, HT has learnt.
Autorotation is an emergency manoeuvre that enables a helicopter to land safely following engine power loss.
CEMILAC’s certification framework for the LUH has been shaped by stringent military airworthiness requirements and the operational demands of Army Aviation, the officials said. Military airworthiness certification requires an aircraft to demonstrate safe and reliable performance across an extensive operational envelope.
“For the LUH, this includes operations in hot-and-high conditions, mountainous terrain, and sandy and dusty environments typical of Army Aviation missions,” said a second official.
Operational feedback from the LUH flying units of the two services will be incorporated into subsequent production batches.
The state-run aircraft maker expects the Army and IAF to place combined orders for at least 187 light helicopters. The LUH is intended for reconnaissance and surveillance, logistics support, troop movement, casualty evacuation, training, disaster relief and high-altitude operations.
HAL has established dedicated LUH production facilities at Tumakuru, with an initial capacity of around 30 helicopters annually, scalable to about 60 based on future requirements.
### Replacing Cheetah and Chetak helicopters
The LUH will replace the ageing Cheetah and Chetak helicopters, whose safety records have been blemished by a string of crashes. The military is looking at a swift replacement of these helicopters, which were designed six decades ago.
The Army will begin phasing out its Cheetah and Chetak fleets in a year or two and replace them with LUHs over the next eight to 10 years, as part of the Army Aviation Corps’ drive to modernise its capabilities.
The planned two-pronged replacement approach involves inducting LUHs and leasing similar helicopters as a stopgap measure to meet critical requirements.
HAL licence-produced 625 Cheetah and Chetak helicopters for use across the defence services. It no longer builds them but remains responsible for their maintenance and repair.
In 1970, HAL signed an agreement with French aerospace firm Aerospatiale to produce Cheetahs, eight years after it partnered with another French firm, Sud-Aviation
(now Airbus), to manufacture Chetaks.
www.hindustantimes.com
By Rahul Singh | Hindustan Times | Updated October 13, 2026, 20:32 IST
The indigenously developed Light Utility Helicopter (LUH), critical to meeting the operational requirements of the Indian Army and Indian Air Force, has entered the final stages of certification and mission equipment integration, officials familiar with the matter said on Tuesday.
The LUH will replace the ageing Cheetah and Chetak helicopters, whose safety records have been blemished by a series of crashes.
Once the Centre for Military Airworthiness and Certification (CEMILAC) clears the helicopter for induction into service, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) aims to deliver the first 12 limited series production LUHs to the Army and IAF in FY 2027–28, officials said.
“Some improvements are underway to boost the helicopter’s performance and operational capability. Flight testing and certification activities for these enhancements are currently in an advanced stage for issuance of a ‘military type certificate’ by CEMILAC for the LUH’s induction into service,” said one of the officials.
### Flight trials
Ongoing flight trials are focused on refining the helicopter’s autorotation characteristics and integrating an automatic flight control system (AFCS) to reduce pilot workload and improve lateral stability, among other things, HT has learnt.
Autorotation is an emergency manoeuvre that enables a helicopter to land safely following engine power loss.
CEMILAC’s certification framework for the LUH has been shaped by stringent military airworthiness requirements and the operational demands of Army Aviation, the officials said. Military airworthiness certification requires an aircraft to demonstrate safe and reliable performance across an extensive operational envelope.
“For the LUH, this includes operations in hot-and-high conditions, mountainous terrain, and sandy and dusty environments typical of Army Aviation missions,” said a second official.
Operational feedback from the LUH flying units of the two services will be incorporated into subsequent production batches.
The state-run aircraft maker expects the Army and IAF to place combined orders for at least 187 light helicopters. The LUH is intended for reconnaissance and surveillance, logistics support, troop movement, casualty evacuation, training, disaster relief and high-altitude operations.
HAL has established dedicated LUH production facilities at Tumakuru, with an initial capacity of around 30 helicopters annually, scalable to about 60 based on future requirements.
### Replacing Cheetah and Chetak helicopters
The LUH will replace the ageing Cheetah and Chetak helicopters, whose safety records have been blemished by a string of crashes. The military is looking at a swift replacement of these helicopters, which were designed six decades ago.
The Army will begin phasing out its Cheetah and Chetak fleets in a year or two and replace them with LUHs over the next eight to 10 years, as part of the Army Aviation Corps’ drive to modernise its capabilities.
The planned two-pronged replacement approach involves inducting LUHs and leasing similar helicopters as a stopgap measure to meet critical requirements.
HAL licence-produced 625 Cheetah and Chetak helicopters for use across the defence services. It no longer builds them but remains responsible for their maintenance and repair.
In 1970, HAL signed an agreement with French aerospace firm Aerospatiale to produce Cheetahs, eight years after it partnered with another French firm, Sud-Aviation
(now Airbus), to manufacture Chetaks.
Light utility helicopter enters final stages of certification: Officials
CEMILAC’s certification framework for the LUH has been shaped by stringent military airworthiness requirements and the operational demands of Army Aviation.
10 years after saying both utility and reconnaissance requirement will be met by the LUH we are now going back to splitting the requirement between two designs. All thanks to HAL's incompetence.
LMAO, you somehow, out of thin air find a way to blame HAL, I mean it's repetitive and boring at this point
The only reason this 200 RSH requirement is to be fulfilled by a JV between a local pvt player and a foreign OEM is the GOI wanting to get the Pvt sector involved in helicopter assembly/manufacturing.
There is literally no other fkin reason, also the LUH has been thoroughly tested across India's varied terrain, let's see if the foreign offerings are even subjected to 10% of what the LUH was subjected to.
LMAO, you somehow, out of thin air find a way to blame HAL, I mean it's repetitive and boring at this point
The only reason this 200 RSH requirement is to be fulfilled by a JV between a local pvt player and a foreign OEM is the GOI wanting to get the Pvt sector involved in helicopter assembly/manufacturing.
There is literally no other fkin reason, also the LUH has been thoroughly tested across India's varied terrain, let's see if the foreign offerings are even subjected to 10% of what the LUH was subjected to.
yea because failing to deliver anything for 10+years means you are not to blame when users decide to look somewhere else. These dehati HAL defenders born after 2016 are just as pathetic as them.
Today, they are literally showing the fix for the issues in the design of LUH. That is the only reason for delays for last 3-4 years and thus opening chance for private companies to step in.LMAO, you somehow, out of thin air find a way to blame HAL, I mean it's repetitive and boring at this point
They wont begetting any orders without such rudimentary issues.
The idiotic thing imo is allowing L2 to participate with its own design rather than L1s design.
Defence Ministry clears Rs 20,000 crore plan to buy 200 light choppers for Army, Air Force; Tata-Airbus, Adani-Leonardo in fray
Looking to replace the vintage fleet of its Cheetah/ Chetak choppers, the Defence Ministry on Monday approved a Rs 20,000 crore proposal to buy 200 light multirole helicopters for the Indian Army and Air Force.New Delhi [India], October 26 (ANI): Looking to replace the vintage fleet of its Cheetah/Chetak choppers, the Defence Ministry on Monday approved a Rs 20,000 crore proposal to buy 200 light multirole helicopters for the Indian Army and Air Force.As per the proposal, the 200 helicopters to be acquired by the two forces would be built in India with Indian companies in the lead.The proposal for the 200 LMRH was cleared by the Defence Acquisition Council in its meeting today. The contract is expected to be split between the L1 and L2 in the programme, defence officials said.
Defence sources said major players in the project would be Tata, along with its partner Airbus, while Adani Group would be partnering with Leonardo of Italy. Bell Helicopters of the US is also expected to offer its chopper for the procurement.The Defence Ministry had issued a Request for Information (RFI) last year for the long-pending programme that has failed on multiple occasions over the last 20 years.Around 400 Cheetah and Chetak helicopters are scheduled to be retired in the upcoming years.India had chosen the Russian Ka-226 in 2014 as the replacement for the Cheetah Chetak fleet of choppers, but the programme could not move forward.The tenders issued earlier also had to be scrapped due to one reason or the other.The light choppers are essential for the Indian defence forces as they are used extensively for reconnaissance and surveillance roles along all the frontiers from Siachen in the North to Arunachal Pradesh in the Northeast and other areas.The Indian Navy is also buying light maritime choppers for search and rescue and other operations. (ANI)
First it was Ka-226 and now it is a toss btw H-125 and AW119. MoD/IAF had planned to split the RSH requirement back in 2015 itself when LUH was still on the drawing board.
It is no coincidence that Airbus and AW tied up w/Tata to build helis in India. They must have been given assurances by GoI that they would be considered for RSH, VVIP 2.0, NUH and NMRH in due course. That was always their ultimate goal.
Imo, Ka-226 didn't pan out only due to the Russia-Ukraine War.
In any case, LUH is already in limited production and issues with its rotor/dynamics are almost resolved. Why bring in an alternative supplier now?
HAL has new assembly line at Tumakuru so production could be scaled up relatively easily. Why not use the ALH as a substitute for the rickety old Chetak, Cheetah duo for the next few years?
I mean we're talking about a military that chose the crappy AK-203 over much more contemporary local AR designs like SSS P-72.
It is no coincidence that Airbus and AW tied up w/Tata to build helis in India. They must have been given assurances by GoI that they would be considered for RSH, VVIP 2.0, NUH and NMRH in due course. That was always their ultimate goal.
Imo, Ka-226 didn't pan out only due to the Russia-Ukraine War.
In any case, LUH is already in limited production and issues with its rotor/dynamics are almost resolved. Why bring in an alternative supplier now?
HAL has new assembly line at Tumakuru so production could be scaled up relatively easily. Why not use the ALH as a substitute for the rickety old Chetak, Cheetah duo for the next few years?
I mean we're talking about a military that chose the crappy AK-203 over much more contemporary local AR designs like SSS P-72.
LMAO, apart from a LSP of 12 units on order, there are no further LUH contracts, what 10+ years of delivering nothing is your low IQ a**e talking about?yea because failing to deliver anything for 10+years means you are not to blame when users decide to look somewhere else. These dehati HAL defenders born after 2016 are just as pathetic as them.
Man you diffense exfarts are so boring to deal with because when faced with questions, your only response is whataboutery and resorting to calling others dehati, grow up kid, get a life.