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Context

The entire fleet of over 330 Advanced Light Helicopters Dhruv remains grounded since January 2025 after a fatal crash of an Indian Coast Guard variant near Porbandar.

A similar crash in September 2024 had already raised safety concerns.

The grounding was voluntarily recommended by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited following evidence of flight control failure due to a fractured swash plate assembly

Issues Highlighted

Major hit to operational readiness

ALHs are crucial for Search and Rescue, HADR and logistics in remote military posts.

With ALH grounded older fleets like Chetak, Cheetah, Mi-17s affected by Ukraine-Russia war must fill the void.

Pilots grounded – risk of losing flying proficiency and operational currency.

Technical and Logistical Red Flags

Repeated Aircraft on Ground events indicate:

Weak operational logistics chain

Immature product design

Possibly flawed spare parts availability and contracts

HAL is yet to fix root causes of the crash three months later.

Structural and Institutional Challenges

Opaque accountability

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited plays multiple roles of manufacturer, investigator and certifier.

Oversight bodies such as DRDO, Department of Defence Production often operate with internal affiliations reducing external checks.

No private sector competition

No civil operators, no export buyers → no incentive to innovate.

HAL enjoys a captive market weakening motivation for quality improvements or design evolution.

Trust Deficit and Sunk-Cost Fallacy

Despite 30+ years and 4 lakh flying hours, ALH remains work in progress.

Over-reliance on IDDM Indigenously Designed, Developed, and Manufactured rhetoric without transparent scrutiny and accountability.

Continued investment without a cost-benefit reassessment of performance.

Broader Implications for India’s Defence Ecosystem

Must Read: ALH DHRUV

Sources:

INDIANEXPRESS