Maiden ground run for Coast Guard chopper

The first green helicopter earmarked for Indian Coast Guard (ICG) has completed its build with the installation of basic systems and had a successful maiden ground run here on Thursday. It was handed over to the Rotary Wing R&D Centre, a design house of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) for integration and certification of 19 new systems.

Director general Rajendra Singh, the Indian Coast Guard, received the contract documents from HAL chairman and managing director, T Suvarna Raju.

On the occasion, Raju said for the first time, HAL has entered into a contract with ICG that includes performance-based logistics (PBL) support after the delivery of helicopters for five years. Already, HAL’s ALH Dhruv helicopters have been extensively deployed by ICG for various roles such as search and rescue (SAR), casualty evacuation, armed patrol, coastal surveillance, VIP movement and the night SAR, he added.

The certified helicopter deliveries are scheduled to commence in 2020. HAL had signed a contract worth around Rs 5,126 crore for supply of 16 ALHs (fixed wheel) to ICG in a five-year timeframe in March 2017 to boost the low-intensity maritime operations (LIMO) and coast security capabilities.

The first ALH Dhruv squadron of Indian Coast Guard was commissioned in March 2002 with its operational base at Indian Coast Guard Air Enclave (ICGAE), Goa.