Russia evinces keen interest in acquiring Dhruv

MIGleader said:

because the indian army thought the 1999 war was a good time to test the dhruv in actualy combat. but it didnt meet expectations, therfor got soem upgrades, ENTERING SERVICE in 2001.

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and now its 2005.. its already in service and is being produced at 20-24 a year.the fact that army went ahead with it. even before the upgrades are not in the copters yet.. ( shaki and israeli avionics are not in production yet).. itself shows that its good..or else it wouldnt have said yes to induction and instead gone for a foreign heli.. like it did at the time of arjun( procured T90).
i wouldnt make claims like dhruv is the best in its class. of course i dont have enough technical info to claim that.. but i would definitely say one thing.. its decent as it has met indian armed forces specifications( which are quite stringent..considering that they even rejected T90 in trials and sent it back for improvements.. ). or that they decided to wait and get an SU30MKI with all not so good russian stuff replaced with indian israeli french stuff.
to add on israeli avionics are well known...
israeli's have plans to purchase a few and are also marketing it.
of course the cost advantage is quite evident here.. due to low cost of production in india..

Quoted by tphuang:
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The best helicopter under 5.5 tonnes?
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There has been a communication gap. The Dhruv is one of the best helicopters in the 5.5 ton category, and not 5.5 ton or lower.

Quoted by tphuang:
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You need to show some proof other than reaching the highest point or such.
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In Dec. 2004. Dhruv broke the world record for highest ascent by a helicopter of its class. It flew at 27,000 feet.
But in May,2005 this record was broken by a Eurocopter team, as it landed on top of mount Everest (29,000 feet). But this record is contested by the Nepal Government.
Source:


These projects are encouraged by the Government of India, with foreign participants.

Quoted by tphuang:
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The fact that it has rotor problem alone and asked for a recall should say something about its reliability. And I haven't even started to mention sikorsky and bell helicopter yet.
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Please note that the problem has been solved.

HAL has delivered 29 helicopters to the IAF, the Indian Army, the Indian Navy and the Coast Guard. Two helicopters have been exported to Nepal. The craft is used in the hot conditions of Rajasthan, in the snow-clad mountains of the Himalayas and onboard ships.

One can search the internet for the excellent reviews of the Dhruv in Paris Airshow (President Chirac praised it. He is an engineer) and many other airshows.
As of now it is the "hottest" helicopter in the market, with many South American nations having expressed interest in it.

Israel Aircraft Industries has agreed to market the Dhruv globally. Israeli Airforce has leased a Dhruv to ferry VIPs. With Russia expressing interest in the Dhruv, it is bound to accumulate more market interest.

The IAF, which formed the Helicopter Aerobatic Team, Sarang, only the second of its kind in the world. `Sarang' demonstrated the copter's agility and capability at Asian Aerospace in Singapore in February 2004.

Sources and photos:
Paris 2005:





Paris 2003: (Aviation International)

Photos of Dhruv variants:

There has been a communication gap. The Dhruv is one of the best helicopters in the 5.5 ton category, and not 5.5 ton or lower.

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Eurocopter Tiger.

In Dec. 2004. Dhruv broke the world record for highest ascent by a helicopter of its class. It flew at 27,000 feet.
But in May,2005 this record was broken by a Eurocopter team, as it landed on top of mount Everest (29,000 feet). But this record is contested by the Nepal Government.
Source:

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These projects are encouraged by the Government of India, with foreign participants.

Click to expand...

Nice, impressive.

Please note that the problem has been solved.

HAL has delivered 29 helicopters to the IAF, the Indian Army, the Indian Navy and the Coast Guard. Two helicopters have been exported to Nepal. The craft is used in the hot conditions of Rajasthan, in the snow-clad mountains of the Himalayas and onboard ships.

One can search the internet for the excellent reviews of the Dhruv in Paris Airshow (President Chirac praised it. He is an engineer) and many other airshows.
As of now it is the "hottest" helicopter in the market, with many South American nations having expressed interest in it.

Israel Aircraft Industries has agreed to market the Dhruv globally. Israeli Airforce has leased a Dhruv to ferry VIPs. With Russia expressing interest in the Dhruv, it is bound to accumulate more market interest.

The IAF, which formed the Helicopter Aerobatic Team, Sarang, only the second of its kind in the world. `Sarang' demonstrated the copter's agility and capability at Asian Aerospace in Singapore in February 2004.

Sources and photos:
Paris 2005:

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

Paris 2003: (Aviation International)

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Photos of Dhruv variants:

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The fact that a problem this serious happened after joining service really makes me wonder about its reliability. You do not see the same thing with eurocopter or Agusta. Seriously, if India can produce higher quality helicopter than Eurocopter or Agusta, that would be an amazing feat all by itself.

Yes, according to Indian sites, it's one of the hottest helicopters in the market. Yet, it has no had a single export. I don't need to mention the export success eurocopter helicopters again, do I? As for attracting foreign attentions, I've only heard about Russia and Chile. Heck, even Z-11 has attracted attention from the Argentinians and I wouldn't consider it to be any good.

ajaybhutani said:

wow.. do u even know that dhruv entered squadron service in 2001.. ?? then how can it be disappointed by the dhruvs performance in the 1999 kargil war..

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Yup the only choppers used were mi 35P.

Then youll have too take that up with my source.

the dhruv is great helicopter, but how can it be greater than Eruocpter;s and agustas? foreign avionics do not make it advnaced, as eurocoter could easily but the same avionics.

MIGleader said:

Then youll have too take that up with my source.

the dhruv is great helicopter, but how can it be greater than Eruocpter;s and agustas? foreign avionics do not make it advnaced, as eurocoter could easily but the same avionics.

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Dhruv is not the greatest of thr great , but yes its pretty good and fits wel in International standards !!!

Quoted by tphuang:
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Yes, according to Indian sites, it's one of the hottest helicopters in the market. Yet, it has no had a single export.
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The Dhruv has been exported to Israel and Nepal.

Israel has a fleet (reported in print media a few days ago) and Nepal has 2 Dhruv helicopters.

Regarding the debate of best in its class, I can say that it is one of the best, and no less than any in its class.

************* No comparisons of usch remember?

Indianfighter said:

The Dhruv has been exported to Israel and Nepal.
Israel has a fleet (reported in print media a few days ago) and Nepal has 2 Dhruv helicopters.

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Well, Nepal is not saying much, but Israel is a good start for sure. Although, check this news about Israel grounding all the Dhruv

Also, you have to remember, the Dhruv fleet in Israel is of the civil variety.

Regarding the debate of best in its class, I can say that it is one of the best, and no less than any in its class.

If a Eurocopter is an F-15, the Dhruv is the Su-30 MKI.

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Don't go there please. Tiger is by far the best helicopter in this class. There shouldn't be any debate. Just look at how many countries are trying to develop a helicopter similar to the Tiger. The Rooivalk and WZ-10 are both getting help from Eurocopter for a helicopter in this class.

tphuang said:

Well, Nepal is not saying much, but Israel is a good start for sure. Although, check this news about Israel grounding all the Dhruv

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Also, you have to remember, the Dhruv fleet in Israel is of the civil variety.

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Israel only purchases military equipment from US , so no hope . If Israel enters in joint production with India(it may eventually happen) then only we may see Dhruv in Israeli military !!

Indianfighter said:

Quoted by tphuang:
_________________
Yes, according to Indian sites, it's one of the hottest helicopters in the market. Yet, it has no had a single export.
_________________
The Dhruv has been exported to Israel and Nepal.

Israel has a fleet (reported in print media a few days ago) and Nepal has 2 Dhruv helicopters.

Regarding the debate of best in its class, I can say that it is one of the best, and no less than any in its class.

If a Eurocopter is an F-15, the Dhruv is the Su-30 MKI.

Click to expand...

************* No comparisons of usch remember?
i dont really know if israel simply buy foreign equipment off the shelve if its for the military, israel will likely liscence produce its own with certain modifications.