News Story: The Indian Navy Runs Out Of Helicopters

HAL Dhruv (Wiki Info - Image: Wiki Commons)

The Indian Navy has had problems with procuring new helicopters for decades and the situation is getting worse. The procurement bureaucracy excels at corruption, timidity and an exceptional talent for not getting things done. As a result Indian warships equipped to handle helicopters have only 20 percent of the helicopters they are supposed to have. The main deficiency is in importing a suitable medium (10 ton class) helicopters (like the U.S. SH-60, Russian Ka-31 and the European EH101 or NH90). There is no solution in sight and the complaints of the navy officers (of all ranks) are becoming louder, more detailed and more public.

Aside from the inept procurement process there are also problems with Indian efforts to develop an Indian helicopter industry. This has also been plagued by political and bureaucratic bungling. Despite that, after a half century of effort India does produce helicopters, but not yet the heavier types the navy needs. The closest Indian manufacturers have come to filling navy needs is the locally designed and built Dhruv.

The story behind the Dhruv is not pretty.  In late 2013 the Indian Navy finally put its first squadron of Dhruv light helicopters into service. These are used for patrolling, search and rescue, and anything else the navy needs, except for those jobs requiring a 10 ton class helicopter. It’s been a difficult journey for the Dhruv. In 2009 the Indian Navy bought six of the Dhruvs for evaluation and did not like what they saw. The main complaints were lack of engine power and poor reliability. These were considered fatal flaws for helicopters meant for SAR (search and rescue) and ASW (anti-submarine warfare).

Read the full story at StrategyPage