HAL Light Utility Helicopter
| Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) | |
|---|---|
| Role | Utility helicopter |
| National origin | India |
| Manufacturer | Hindustan Aeronautics Limited |
| First flight | 6 September 2016 [1] |
| Status | Under development |
| Primary users | Indian Army Indian Airforce |
| Number built | One prototype[1] |
|
| |
The HAL Light Utility Helicopter (LUH), and the derivative Light Observation Helicopter (LOH), are single-engine light helicopters under development by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited of India.
Development
The HAL LUH (Light Utility Helicopter) is a 3-tonne helicopter exclusively built for the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force to replace the aging fleet of Cheetah and Chetak helicopters. The Indian military have a requirement for 384 helicopters of which 187 helicopters will be built by HAL. Production is planned to begin in 2018 at 10 per year, later on going up to 36 per year and delivery of 187 HAL’s LUHs is to be completed by 2022.[2]
As of 3 November 2012, the bottom structure assembly of the LUH ground test vehicle is complete and has been taken down from the on December 2012. According to HAL, "LUH assembly jigs are modular and gaugeless jigs, concurrently designed along with structure design using 3D CAD. There are five assembly jigs and a coupling jig enabling modular and concurrent build- up of the structure. The jigs are built and validated using state-of-the-art CAMS-Computer Aided Measurement System (laser tracker) to establish high accuracy and stability.[3]
Although originally scheduled to first fly in 2015, the first prototype of HAL LUH (ZG4620) made its maiden flight on 6 September 2016 at Bangalore.[1]
Specifications
Data from [4] Livefist[5] HAL[6]
General characteristics
- Crew: 2
- Capacity: up to 6 passengers
- Empty weight: 1,910[7] kg (4,211 lb)
- Max takeoff weight: 3,150[7] kg (6,945 lb)
- Powerplant: 1 × HAL/Turbomeca Shakti 1U turboshaft engine, 1,272 kW (1,706 hp)
Performance
- Cruising speed: 220 km/h (137 mph; 119 kn)
- Never exceed speed: 250 km/h (155 mph; 135 kn)
- Range: 350 km (217 mi; 189 nmi)
- Service ceiling: 6,500 m (21,325 ft)
- Rate of climb: 7.5 m/s (1,480 ft/min)
- Fuel consumption: 0.69 kg/km (2.4 lb/mi)
- Thrust/weight: 5.6
References
- 1 2 3 "HAL Conducts Technical Flight of Indigenous Light Utility Helicopter (LUH)". HAL. 6 September 2016.
- ↑ Army Aviation's Helicopter Deal Awaited - SP's Land Forces
- ↑ LUH bottom structure assembly completed
- ↑ "Turbomeca V2". Retrieved 2012-01-17.
- ↑ "LUH page on Livefist Defence". Livefist Defence. Retrieved 2010-05-24.
- ↑ "LUH (Light Utility Helicopter)". hal-india.com. 2016-07-11.
- 1 2 "Rotary Wing". hal-india.com.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to HAL military aircraft. |