Coast Guard inducts three ALH Mk-III helicopters

Coast Guard inducts three ALH Mk-III helicopters

Subject: Defence

Context: The Coast Guard on Saturday inducted the first batch of three Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) Mk-III designed and manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL).

Concept:

About ALH MK-III Helicopter

• The Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH-DHRUV), designed and built in-house, is a twin-engine, multi-role, multi-mission new generation helicopter in the 5.5 tonne weight range.
• It’s a multi-role chopper powered by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited’s Shakti engine (HAL).
• HAL (Hindustan Aeronautics Limited) is an Indian state-owned aerospace and defence corporation headquartered in Bangalore.
• The Ministry of Defence is in charge of its administration.
• The ALH Mk III will be used for search and rescue, special operations, and coastal surveillance and will have an all-glass cockpit.
• The Advanced Light Helicopter programme was conceived by HAL in 1984. Dhruv Mk-I, Mk-II, Mk-III, and Mk-IV are the four main variants of Dhruv.

Features of ALH MK-III Helicopter

• The plane, which is a step up from the Mk 1, would be able to reduce low visibility during nighttime search and rescue operations.
• It has a 0.7 mm gun, giving it a significant capability in LIMO (low intensity maritime operations).
• The new automatic flight control system outperforms the previous one by a long shot.