INS Shikra receives first two Dhruv Mk.III helicopters
On 29 October 2021, the first two Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Dhruv Mk.III helicopters were inducted into Indian Naval Air Squadron (INAS) 321 Angels at INS Shikra (Mumbai).
The new helicopters will replace the venerable SA316B (HAL) Chetak. One of the Dhruvs was serialled IN715, the other one most probably IN714, but this has not yet been confirmed.
Dating back to March 2017, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) approved the purchase of 32 Dhruv Mk.III Advanced Light Helicopters to boost the maritime capabilities of the Indian Navy and Coast Guard. Both armed forces will receive sixteen helicopters each.
So far, both forces had just a small number of Dhruv Mk.I helicopters in their inventory, with the navy operating eight Dhruvs and the coast guard four Dhruvs of which one was donated to the Maldives. The Mk.I variant has a conventional cockpit and Turbomeca (now Safran Helicopter Engines) TM333-2B2 turboshaft engines (750 hp each).
The customized Mk.III version features a full glass cockpit with Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) Integrated Architecture Display System (IADS), more powerful "Shakti" (Safran Ardiden 1H1) engines (1,400–2,000 hp each), and a host of new systems integrated by HAL’s Rotary Wing Research and Design Centre (RWRDC).
Photos by Indian Navy