The project sanction for the Indian Multi-Role Helicopter (IMRH), being developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL), is expected within this financial year, defence sources said.
Meanwhile, Safran Helicopter Engines and HAL have decided to set up their new joint venture company in Bengaluru, which will be dedicated to the “design, development, production, sales and support of helicopter engines” with the focus first on the IMRH, the French company announced.
The IAF operates a very large Mi-17 fleet — Mi-17, Mi-17 1V and Mi-17 V5. It is the workhorse of the IAF’s helicopter fleet. Between 2008 and 2013, India contracted 151 Mi-17V5s, the last of which were delivered in February 2016. In all, the IAF operates a wide mix of around 500 rotary platforms, which include around 90 Mi-17s, over 130 Mi-17V5s, over 70 ALH, including the weaponised variant, 22 AH-64E Apache attack helicopters, one squadron of Mi-35 attack helicopters and 15 CH-47F Chinook heavy lift helicopters, in addition to the LCH currently being inducted. The oldest lot of Mi-17s are expected to be phased out from 2028 onwards.
HAL is looking at benchmarking the proposed IMRH against its contemporary helicopters namely Russian Mi-17, Sikorsky S-92, AgustaWestland AW-101, NHIndustries NH-90 and Eurocopter EC-725 and intends to target the global helicopter market. The intended roles of the IMRH are to support air assault, air transport, combat logistics, combat search and rescue and casualty evacuation as well as be employed for VVIP duties, HAL officials had stated earlier.
The HAL plans to produce more than 1,000 helicopters in the range of three tonnes to 15 tonnes, with a total business of over ₹4 lakh crores over a period of 20 years. In February, HAL inaugurated its new helicopter factory at Tumakuru in Karnataka, which is the largest helicopter manufacturing facility in India and will initially produce the Light Utility Helicopter (LUH). Initially, this factory will produce around 30 helicopters per year which can be enhanced to 60 and then 90 per year in a phased manner, HAL had stated.
The Navy has projected a requirement of over 100 MRH and an earlier global tender for 123 MRH has been dropped. The Navy is currently in the process of inducting 24 MH-60R MRH procured under a $2.2-billion deal with Lockheed Martin signed in February 2020 with deliveries expected to be completed by 2025.