HAL, CABS ready to inspire Brazilian Defence Minister Celso Amorim

Brazilian Defence
Minister Celso Amorim

By Anantha Krishnan M

Express News Service

Bangalore: The Aviation Capital will play host to Brazilian Defense Minister Celso Amorim on February 7, after he touches down at the Old Bangalore Airport for a one-day visit. The charismatic leader from Brazil will then get into a huddle with the men from Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), who are polishing the power-points to showcase their might.

Part of his India five-day tour, Amorim's will get a glimpse of HAL's Hawk facility, Advanced Light Helicopter final assembly, Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) hangar and finally the must-see export hangar. HAL sources say that Brazil could be a prospective customer for its star product Dhruv, after Ecuador. “Very nascent stages of thought-process, though we are keen to push the product as an affordable chopper with great operational abilities. There were some talks for the supply of aircraft doors in the past and we should now see how Amorim's visit would materialize into business later,” sources said.

The DRDO will host Amorim at the Centre for Airborne Systems (CABS), which is currently engaged in the development of the Airborne Early Warning and Control System (AEW&CS) on a modified platform of Embraer (EMB-145I) of Brazil.

“We will be showing him the structural assembly of the Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA)  radar. At this point we have no idea, whether we will have another partnership with Brazil for our future programmes,” DRDO sources said.

The quality inspectors and certifying officials from Brazil are already at CABS as part of the AEW&CS project. “More people-to-people cooperation is being talked about between the two countries and Amorim's visit would cement the plans,” sources said. 

Copyright@The New Indian Express

HAL's LCH TD-2 with breakthrough digital camouflage paint on static display at Aero India

Photos: Planefinder

(Stay-tuned for an uplose with Team ALH/LCH/LUH)

Double role: HAL makes its marketing head in charge of Helicopter Complex (HC) too; MD (HC) goes on leave sighting health reasons

By Anantha Krishnan M. | Aviation Week |

Bangalore | India | August 05, 2010

Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.’s Helicopter Complex (HC) in Bengaluru has a new chief, P. Soundara Rajan, who is also director of marketing and corporate planning at HAL’s headquarters.
AVIATION WEEK has learned from HAL insiders that Soundara assumed his additional responsibilities on Aug. 3, though HAL has yet to issue any formal announcement.
This comes in the wake of current managing director R. Srinivasan going on extended leave, citing health reasons.
The appointment is a crucial one, as the HC faces the herculean task of meeting the demands of the Indian armed forces, with most of its chopper programs lagging behind schedule. In addition to the HC’s flagship product — the Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH), which has now found a place in the international market — the company also has embarked upon ambitious programs like the Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) and Light Utility Helicopter (LUH).

 For the full story, please visit:

http://www.aviationweek.com/india

Coming soon: Status of ALH program, post CAG rap

Aviation Week India Thought Leaders (ITL) Series-4: HAL Chairman Ashok Nayak sets firm agenda for aggressive export sales; order book Rs 80,000 crore; says ALH Mk-IV variant on track

HAL Chairman Mr Ashok Nayak (top); and (bottom) company's prime revenue-generating products Dhruv & Su-30MKI. Photos: A.R. Jose for AVIATION WEEK/tarmak007

(AVIATION WEEK'S INDIA THOUGHT LEADERS Q&A SERIES)

By Anantha Krishnan M. | Aviation Week

Bangalore, India | May 28, 2010

Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) sits on a robust order book close to Rs 80,000 crore, showing the company’s resounding health. As the backbone of the armed services, especially the Indian Air Force (IAF), HAL has firmed up a flight path to stay on top as South Asia’s market leader. Brightening its outlook are a series of fixed-wing and rotary platform projects. The offset policy has also been a huge blessing, with a number of global leaders working closely with HAL. Provisional sales for 2009-10 stood at Rs 11,415 crore, up about 10% over the previous year, while the profit before tax for the year stood at Rs 2,617 crore, with growth of 12% over the previous year. The order book has also swelled by more than Rs 12,000 crore during the year. At the company’s controls is a man who has ushered in a new shop-floor-driven, intense working philosophy. AVIATION WEEK met HAL Chairman Ashok Nayak as part of its India Thought Leaders (ITL) series.

AW: How far has HAL been able to penetrate the global market? Where do you position HAL by 2012?

 A.N.: HAL is emerging as a globally competitive aerospace company, winning the confidence of customers through the supply of high-precision structural work packages to leading global aerospace companies such as Airbus and RUAG in Europe, Boeing in North America and Embraer in South America. We will gradually focus on export of indigenously developed helicopters and trainer aircraft in the future. We will strive to harness the opportunities that emerge through offset. These should take the HAL export sales to substantially higher values in the years to come.

For the complete interview, please visit:

http://www.aviationweek.com/india

Snapshots from Super Sunday Show -- LCH Maiden Flight

LCA Tejas PV-2 was the first to fly. (Top & below)

Then came the Hawk. (Top & below)

Dornier followed next. (Top & below)

 Dhruv checked in next. (Top)

Finally, she came. Fast and furious -- the LCH (top and all photos below)

The blogger with Secretary Defence Production R.K. Singh.(Below) LCH amidst the crowd.

 All photos above: A.R. JOSE for tarmak007

HAL Test pilots Wcg Cdr (Retd) Unni Pillai and Gp Cpt (Rtd) Hari Nair after the flight. Photo: Shiv Aroor.  (Below) LCH flypast photo sent by Anup Kulkarni, a tarmak007 reader. 

A Helicopter Complex handout on LCH.(Top & below)

The LUH mock-up (top and below) displayed by HAL during the event.
Photos: Sanjay Simha

LCH UPDATE: Just above my house, just above my head, just now, just for you!

The LCH, followed by 2 Sarang Dhruvs, flew some 5-6 times over this blogger's house in Bangalore between 10.40 and 11.15 am today. These are photos shot from an amateur camera and I regret the poor quality. However, these could be first visuals of LCH being escorted by the proven platform Dhruv and the same exercise will be performed tomorrow in front of the august gathering. Moral of the story: Stay close to an airport, if you are an aviation journalist! Photos: tarmak007