The Indian Navy's MH-60R & Naval Dhruv UHM Helicopters

Ankit Kumar said:
Can the smaller Chetaks fit in?

No just wanting to know , since we have 4 more ships on order.
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The hangar is about 14m in length. So it can fit in anything smaller than that. So the Chetaks, definitely, with the rudimentary blade folding system designed for it. But it's not advanced enough to be used on ships as a dedicated helicopter.

Since Talwars can can carry only 1 helicopter, I don't think the Ka-27 will be replaced. The Russians also have multiple ships with the same problem of a small hangar, so it's not a problem for the future development of new helis.

Even if we have 10 Talwars, we only need 10 helicopters. This will allow the use of 1 helicopter for each ship at any time, with some being down for refits and repairs. So the fleet requirement is very small and neither NMRH nor NUH have to be troubled by the requirements for Talwar class.
 
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Screenshot_2020-07-16 Indian Navy Official Calendar 2020.jpg
 
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Lockheed Bags Contract To Equip Indian MH-60R Helicopters With Low-Frequency Sonars
After bagging a $905 million deal for supplying 24 MH-60R helicopters to the Indian Navy in May 2020, Lockheed Martin is all set to deliver Airborne Low-Frequency Sonars (ALFSs) worth more than $181 million to India, according to US Department of Defence.

The press report read – Lockheed Martin Corp is awarded a $181,744,524 modification to previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract N00019-19-C-0013. This modification provides for the production, delivery and integration of 24 Airborne Low-Frequency Sonars (ALFS) for the government of India; eight ALFS for the Navy and seven ALFS for the government of Denmark, into MH-60R Seahawk aircraft. Work will be performed in Brest, France (77%); Portsmouth, Rhode Island (15%); and Owego, New York (8%), and is expected to be completed by December 2024.

The deal was announced on 4th August and includes production, delivery and integration of the ALFS on 24 helicopters for the Indian Navy, 8 systems for the U.S. Navy and 7 for the Danish Navy MH-60R helicopters. It is seen as a significant booster for the Indian Navy in its undersea warfare capabilities and has come at a key point amid heightening tensions with China.

Lockheed MH-60R deal for the Indian Navy
Struggling with its old Sea King helicopters, the Indian Navy has been long-standing in the queue to acquire new multirole utility helicopters for ASW (anti-submarine warfare) and search & rescue operations.

The MH-60R helicopters were chosen as a replacement for the Sea Kings and were cleared for purchase by the Defense Ministry in August 2018. The deal of sell 24 helicopters was approved by the Trump administration however the initial cost estimated was $2.6 billion which included spares, maintenance logistical support and munitions including Hellfire Missiles, MK 54 Lightweight Torpedoes, 50 cannons and precision rocket systems.

The deal was inked during President Trump’s visit to India in February 2020, and Lockheed was given an order to supply 24 MH-60R helicopters to the Indian Navy for the initial cost of $905 million, which excluded the support and maintenance. “What has been announced today is just the cost of the helicopters minus the weapons and other systems”, an officer had explained to Financial Express.

The AN/AQS-22 Airborne Low-Frequency Sonar
Designed, developed and manufactured by the defence and aerospace giant Raytheon Technologies, the AN/AQS-22 Airborne Low Frequency is the primary undersea warfare sensor for the MH-60R helicopters manufactured by Lockheed.

According to the manufacturer, “the AN/AQS-22 is the only in-service dipping sonar with the multi-frequency operation. This capability enables the AN/AQS-22 to adapt its performance to varying environmental conditions”.

“With a rapid search rate, the AN/AQS-22 identifies and neutralizes threats sooner, enabling it to cover a larger area. The AN/AQS-22 also permits a longer detection range over a wider area, reducing the number of helicopters required to perform active anti-submarine warfare (ASW) screening”.
eurasiantimes.com

Lockheed Bags Contract To Equip Indian MH-60R Helicopters With Low-Frequency Sonars

The MH-60R helicopters were chosen as a replacement for the Sea Kings and were cleared for purchase by the Defense Ministry in August 2018. The deal of sell 24 helicopters was approved by the Trump administration however the initial cost estimated was $2.6 billion
eurasiantimes.com eurasiantimes.com
 
Sathya said:
After reading the live fist article .. ,
Don't know why I feel bad taste.

Is this new Dhruv built to the required specifications? Or Navy has to adjust within the hangar?
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This article.
Talks about number of personnel required to fold.
Lenght of druv with 1 wing in front & 3 in the ba k.
 
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Sathya said:
After reading the live fist article .. ,
Don't know why I feel bad taste.

Is this new Dhruv built to the required specifications? Or Navy has to adjust within the hangar?
Click to expand...
All the 16 Dhruv Mk3 will be shore based and operated. They can land and takeoff from the OPVs but cannot use their hanger.
The Aloutte 3 helos will be the primary ship based helicopter for some time now for ICG.
 
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Ankit Kumar said:
How about HAL itself takes some intiative and builds a prototype with automatic folding rotors and tails and then go to Navy. Like they did with HTT40
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They have to design a helicopter from scratch. It's too late for that in the light category. Their only hope now is for the medium lift requirement, but I don't think they will have one ready in time for the next tender.
 
randomradio said:
They have to design a helicopter from scratch. It's too late for that in the light category. Their only hope now is for the medium lift requirement, but I don't think they will have one ready in time for the next tender.
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Navy will be taking deliveries of rest 5 new built alouttes by this FY. Alouttes, new built in 2020.

Whatever it is, we need to do it fast. Navy has a breather in the form of MH60R. ICG has nothing, 2017-2022 will see induction of 12 new OPVs with zero addition of helicopters which can use the hanger. 16 or so Alouttes remaining in their inventory, pretty dire situation.
 
This para keeps coming back to me while reading all the NALH arguments. He was honest while batting for Dhruv.
ALH was specifically designed for high altitude and some intensive manoeuvring which are exactly opposite to what the Indian Navy needed. Naval aircraft primarily need long period hover (time on station) and stability, which is the opposite of manoeuvrability. The design requirements were on the opposite ends of the spectrum hence there was no way that ALH would have met the NSQR. It’s easy to say in hindsight that HAL should have used a different rotor for the Naval ALH. As a nation in the 1990s we did not have any background in helicopter design, we were just learning to take baby steps, there was no margin within the project to make two different helicopters. The moment the rotor is changed, the helicopter would have become a different type entailing complete testing afresh, here we are not just talking about flight testing but ground testing also which takes much longer than flight testing.
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NAVY-DHRUV SPAT: Let’s Stop Fighting, HAL Test Pilot Says | Livefist
 
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Ankit Kumar said:
Navy will be taking deliveries of rest 5 new built alouttes by this FY. Alouttes, new built in 2020.

Whatever it is, we need to do it fast. Navy has a breather in the form of MH60R. ICG has nothing, 2017-2022 will see induction of 12 new OPVs with zero addition of helicopters which can use the hanger. 16 or so Alouttes remaining in their inventory, pretty dire situation.
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The NUH tender will be out this year.
 
_Anonymous_ said:
Which is precisely why HAL stated they won't be competing for the N MRH project. Ironically, they can since they have the design knowledge today to come up with a different version as opposed to what it was 2 decades ago.
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You mean NUH? There is no active NMRH tender.

HAL gave written document saying ALH will not be able to compete for NUH requirements in 2011. If they have started then to build a navy specific version there wouldn't be a debate now.
 
Ashwin said:
You mean NUH? There is no active NMRH tender.

HAL gave written document saying ALH will not be able to compete for NUH requirements in 2011. If they have started then to build a navy specific version there wouldn't be a debate now.
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Nope. I specifically meant NMRH. I think in these very series of articles there was a quote by the CMD admitting that HAL wasn't developing an IN version of the MRH & that HAL would understand if the IN went abroad to source their requirements. However, the NUH was a different story according to him, your statement of 2011 & it's veracity notwithstanding.
 
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