PM Modi to inaugurate Chopper factory at Tumakuru next month

One thing quite unique with the Modi Govt and incomparable with the other governments is that it works at a fast pace. The factory has been built in a record time given the fact that it was none other than Prime Minister Modi who had laid the foundation of the same a couple of years ago in 2016.

New Delhi, Jan 10: Pushing for Make-in-India in defence, HAL has set up a new factory for chopper manufacturing. According to HAL CMD R. Madhavan, the factory has already made its first helicopter - 'LUH' or light utility helicopter. However, the official rolling out will be done by Prime Minister Modi next month. Spread in more than 615 acres the factory is built on industry 4.0 norms.

The new helicopter factory according to the media reports not only has the advanced manufacturing, structural assembly and final assembly-line facilities, there is a helipad, flight hangar, ATC, equipping hangar, admin building, etc. amongst others. Additionally, the whole setup is well equipped with IT services and Integrated Building Management System (IBMS).

Nonetheless, the HAL factory for helicopters comes with the operational nerve centre of the entire campus as it has total control and monitoring of all the services.

PM Modi had laid foundation in 2016

One thing quite unique with the Modi Govt and incomparable with the other governments is that it works at a fast pace. The factory has been built in a record time given the fact that it was none other than Prime Minister Modi who had laid the foundation of the same a couple of years ago in 2016. The factory is crucial for Make in India in the defence sector which heavily relies on imported platforms.

Nonetheless, the factory will first manufacture LUHs; however, later on it would be used for the manufacturing of the Russian Kamov-226 (Ka-226) helicopters. About its capacity, the news reports claim that it could make nearly 60 helicopters every year; however, initially it would be manufacturing nearly 30 LUHs every year.

Made-in-India Ka-226

Earlier there were reports that India may cancel to make Ka-226 locally; however, according to HAL CMD Madhavan they are waiting for the clearance from the government. Thus, it appears that there is no decision yet as far as their manufacturing in India is concerned. Needless to say HAL has already dedicated land for Ka-226 within the factory.

HAL is playing a massive role in making India self-reliant in the defence sector with its several manufacturing units. The Bangalore Complex, MiG Complex, Accessories Complex and now Helicopter Complex are the setups where it works for indigenization of defence platforms.

The Helicopter Division and Helicopter MRO Division Bangalore with Barrackpore Division and Aerospace Composites Division make HAL the largest defence manufacturer in India.