Back in action: HAL's ALH Dhruv helicopters begin flying operations

The fleet of ALH Dhruv helicopters has started flying operations again, the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) said in a release on Monday. This comes less than a month after the operations of the helicopters were halted by the Indian Navy following an accident off the Mumbai coast.

"In the wake of the ALH Dhruv accident off the Mumbai coast, the Navy halted the operations of ALH Dhruv Helicopters till the time investigators find the reason for the incident and precautionary checks are carried out," the company had then said.

The ALH choppers are flown by all three defence forces, including the Army, Navy, and Air Force, along with the Indian Coast Guard.

Advanced Light Helicopter or ALH-Dhruv is an indigenously developed utility aircraft by HAL with a twin-engine.

Even though its development was started in 1984, and was initially designed with Germany's assistance Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm (MBB), the helicopter was first flown in 1992 but entered service after certification in 2002.

According to HAL, the aircraft is "type –Certified" for military operations by the Centre for Military Airworthiness Certification and civil operations by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation. The major variants of Dhruv are classified as Dhruv Mk-I, Mk-II, Mk-III, and Mk-IV.

As of 2020, over 300 HAL Dhruvs have been produced for domestic and export markets.