'Dhruv' a good product for export: HAL Chief

Bangalore, Aug 16 (UNI) Defence aviation major Hindustan Aeronautics Limited is pushing hard its crowning glory, Dhruv, the Adanced Light Helicopter, in Latin American countries besides Turkey and Mauritius.

Some of these countries have evinced keen intgerest in buying the indigenously developed state-of-the-art Chopper HAL Chairman Ashok K Baweja told newsmen after the inaugural flight of Dhruv in the weaponised mode and fitted with a highpower shakti engine jointly developed by HAL with Turbomecca, here today. HAL has already conducted flight tests at altitudes ranging from 12,000 to 15,000 feet in Chile, Mr Baweja said adding ''we have also submitted bids in Boliva, Turkey and Mauritius''.

He ssaid though Dhruv export was a step forward, HAL saw greater potential to push ALH within the country as the Indian defence forces needed 300 such helicopters at present. ''We have already delivered 67 Dhruvs to the Armed Forces so far,'' he said.

Mr Baweja denied that HAL was seeking help from Israel to market its ALH and said that the aviation major would market it on its own.

On the problem of vibration and recent replacement of tail rotors of the Dhruv, he retorted saying that all helicopters vibrate due to the rotors.

"We have made phenomenal improvements in ALH production.

The problem of tail rotor was minor and replacement of these equipment in 15 copters would have been enough. But to main very high standards we replaced tail rotors in all the machines that had rolled out of the HAL helicopter division here,' he said.

The levels of vibrations in Dhruv was equal or lower compared to all top helicopter models manufactured worldwide, he claimed.

UNI