×
Aircraft / Aviation Vehicles & Artillery Infantry Arms Warships & Submarines Military Pay Chart (2023) Military Ranks
Advertisements
HOME
AIRCRAFT / AVIATION
MODERN AIR FORCES
COUNTRIES
MANUFACTURERS
COMPARE
BY CONFLICT
BY TYPE
BY DECADE
MODERN AIRCRAFT
Aviation / Aerospace

HAL Dhruv (Polaris)


Multirole Medium-Lift Transport Helicopter [ 2002 ]



The HAL Dhruv is currently in service with Indian armed forces and has found customers in several countries around the world.



Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 07/02/2020 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site.

GO TO SPECIFICATIONS [+]
Advertisements
While still largely reliant on foreign suppliers, the Indian military industry has made strides in developing internal solutions to ongoing requirements. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has developed the "Dhruv" (meaning "Polaris") as a multirole, medium-lift helicopter to serve the Army, Air Force and Navy. Some 200 of the type have since been produced. Its armed combat version is the HAL "Rudra".

The Dhruv was unveiled in late 1984 and this stemmed from a 1979 requirement for a multirole military helicopter in the five-ton range. The process involved foreign assistance from the MBB concern of Germany - then West Germany. First flight was recorded on August 20th, 1992. However, the development phase was fraught with delays by way of technological challenges, sanctions, changing Army requirements (and its general commitment) and internal economic issues - its first flight was actually scheduled for 1989. This led to the platform finally attaining service introduction in March of 2002.

Another setback proved to be the engine of choice - the American LHTEC T800 turboshaft - which fell under embargo. This forced engineers to select a French-originated model in the Turbomeca TM333-2B2 turboshaft of 1,000 horsepower (India has held a close relationship with both France and Russia in recent decades). The selection of the French engine then involved assistance from French engineers which benefitted the program considerably.

At its core, the Dhruv is a largely conventional multirole platform. It sports a well-glazed cockpit seating two in a side-by-side arrangement. Aft of the cockpit is the passenger seating area straddled along either side by sliding access doors. The engines sit atop the cabin roof in the usual way and drive a four-bladed composite main rotor (low mounted) as well as a four-bladed tail rotor (by way of an extension shaft in the tail stem) fitted to the starboard side. The undercarriage is fixed as a twin skid assembly for simplicity in operation and repair though some versions have been seen with a retractable wheeled undercarriage as well. The raised tail stem allows a clamshell type access door to be fitted at the fuselage rear. The tail unit also contains a vertical fin (which mounts the drive gear for the tail rotor) and low-mounted horizontal planes (containing smaller vertical tail fins).

The Dhruv military form first appeared through the Mk.1 designation and this was a crude form of the intended design, featuring a mechanical-gauged cockpit. Production of these began in 2001 and some 56 were delivered. The Mk.2 introduced a locally-designed and developed (by HAL) all-glass cockpit for a more modern look. These were largely faithful to the Mk.1 version save for its advanced internals and production began in 2007. The Mk.3 was given uprated engines ("Shakti" engines of 1,200 horsepower), an improved countermeasures fit (chaff and flare dispensers), improved Electronic Warfare (EW) equipment, increased survivability and vibration control solutions. Introduction of this form came in 2012. The Mk.4 "Rudra" is the aforementioned armed combat model featuring an integrated weapons system.

The Dhruv also exists along civilian market lines in the C, CFW and CS models. These can seat as many as twelve passengers and have been in service since late 2003. The helicopter is in military service with (or scheduled to enter service with) the governments of Ecuador, India, Israel, Maldives, Mauritius, Nepal and Suriname. In civilian airspace, the Dhruv has been seen in (or ordered by) India, Turkey and Peru. First export customers were Nepal and Israel.©MilitaryFactory.com
Note: The above text is EXCLUSIVE to the site www.MilitaryFactory.com. It is the product of many hours of research and work made possible with the help of contributors, veterans, insiders, and topic specialists. If you happen upon this text anywhere else on the internet or in print, please let us know at MilitaryFactory AT gmail DOT com so that we may take appropriate action against the offender / offending site and continue to protect this original work.

December 2018 - The homegrown Dhruv is a contender to fulfill a requirement for fourteen Indian Coast Guard helicopters. It is being challenged by the French Airbus Helicopters H225M form.

February 2019 - HAL of India has unveiled a navalized mock-up of its Dhruv helicopter at Aero India 2019. This version of the helicopter will sport folding main rotor blades and a completely folding tail unit for storage aboard space-strapped warships. Power to the vehicle will be through 2 x Shakti 1H1 turboshaft engines of 1,032 horsepower each. The primary target of this venture is the Indian Navy which seeks to fill a standing requirement for 111 utility-minded helicopters. The entry faces stiff competition from established products originating from Bell and Lockheed Martin of the United States, Airbus Helicopters of France, and Kamov of Russia.

Advertisements

Specifications



Service Year
2002

Origin
India national flag graphic
India

Status
ACTIVE
In Active Service.
Crew
2

Production
231
UNITS


Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) - India
(View other Aviaton-Related Manufacturers)
National flag of Bolivia National flag of Ecuador National flag of India National flag of Israel National flag of Peru National flag of Turkey Bolivia; Burma; Ecuador; India; Israel; Maldives; Mauritus; Nepal; Peru; Suriname; Turkey
(OPERATORS list includes past, present, and future operators when applicable)
Ground Attack (Bombing, Strafing)
Ability to conduct aerial bombing of ground targets by way of (but not limited to) guns, bombs, missiles, rockets, and the like.
Close-Air Support (CAS)
Developed to operate in close proximity to active ground elements by way of a broad array of air-to-ground ordnance and munitions options.
Special-Mission: Search & Rescue (SAR)
Ability to locate and extract personnel from areas of potential harm or peril (i.e. downed airmen in the sea).
Transport
General transport functionality to move supplies/cargo or personnel (including wounded and VIP) over range.
Commercial Aviation
Used in roles serving the commercial aviation market, ferrying both passengers and goods over range.
Intelligence-Surveillance-Reconnaissance (ISR), Scout
Surveil ground targets / target areas to assess environmental threat levels, enemy strength, or enemy movement.


Length
52.1 ft
(15.87 m)
Width/Span
43.3 ft
(13.20 m)
Height
13.3 ft
(4.05 m)
Empty Wgt
5,516 lb
(2,502 kg)
MTOW
12,125 lb
(5,500 kg)
Wgt Diff
+6,609 lb
(+2,998 kg)
(Showcased structural values pertain to the HAL Dhruv production variant)
Installed: 2 x Shakti turboshaft engine developing 1,200 horsepower OR 2 x Turbomeca TM 333-2B2 turboshaft engines developing 1,000 horsepower each while driving a four-blade main rotor and a four-blade tail rotor.
Max Speed
174 mph
(280 kph | 151 kts)
Ceiling
27,500 ft
(8,382 m | 5 mi)
Range
514 mi
(827 km | 1,532 nm)
Rate-of-Climb
1,771 ft/min
(540 m/min)


♦ MACH Regime (Sonic)
Sub
Trans
Super
Hyper
HiHyper
ReEntry
RANGES (MPH) Subsonic: <614mph | Transonic: 614-921 | Supersonic: 921-3836 | Hypersonic: 3836-7673 | Hi-Hypersonic: 7673-19180 | Reentry: >19030


(Showcased performance specifications pertain to the HAL Dhruv production variant. Performance specifications showcased above are subject to environmental factors as well as aircraft configuration. Estimates are made when Real Data not available. Compare this aircraft entry against any other in our database or View aircraft by powerplant type)
OPTIONAL (Armed Variant):
8 x Anti-tank missiles for ranged tank-killing.
4 x 68mm rocket pods for basic ground attack.
2 x Torpedoes for submarine-/ship-hunting.
2 x Depth charges for submarine-hunting.
4 x Anti-ship missiles for ship-hunting.


Supported Types


Graphical image of an aircraft anti-tank guided missile
Graphical image of aircraft aerial rockets
Graphical image of an aircraft rocket pod
Graphical image of an aircraft anti-ship missile
Graphical image of an aircraft aerial torpedo
Graphical image of a naval depth charge


(Not all ordnance types may be represented in the showcase above)
Hardpoint Mountings: 4


Dhruv - Base Series Production Designation
Rudra - Armed Combat Variant of the Dhruv
Dhruv NUH - Naval Utility Helicopter proposal for the Indian Navy; debuted at Aero India 2019; featuring folding main rotor blades and folding tail rotor unit; 2 x Shakti 1H1 turboshaft engines.


Military lapel ribbon for Operation Allied Force
Military lapel ribbon for the Arab-Israeli War
Military lapel ribbon for the Battle of Britain
Military lapel ribbon for the Battle of Midway
Military lapel ribbon for the Berlin Airlift
Military lapel ribbon for the Chaco War
Military lapel ribbon for the Cold War
Military lapel ribbon for the Cuban Missile Crisis
Military lapel ribbon for pioneering aircraft
Military lapel ribbon for the Falklands War
Military lapel ribbon for the French-Indochina War
Military lapel ribbon for the Golden Age of Flight
Military lapel ribbon for the 1991 Gulf War
Military lapel ribbon for the Indo-Pak Wars
Military lapel ribbon for the Iran-Iraq War
Military lapel ribbon for the Korean War
Military lapel ribbon for the 1982 Lebanon War
Military lapel ribbon for the Malayan Emergency
Military lapel ribbon representing modern aircraft
Military lapel ribbon for the attack on Pearl Harbor
Military lapel ribbon for the Six Day War
Military lapel ribbon for the Soviet-Afghan War
Military lapel ribbon for the Spanish Civil War
Military lapel ribbon for the Suez Crisis
Military lapel ribbon for the Ukranian-Russian War
Military lapel ribbon for the Vietnam War
Military lapel ribbon for Warsaw Pact of the Cold War-era
Military lapel ribbon for the WASP (WW2)
Military lapel ribbon for the World War 1
Military lapel ribbon for the World War 2
Military lapel ribbon for the Yom Kippur War
Military lapel ribbon for experimental x-plane aircraft


Ribbon graphics not necessarily indicative of actual historical campaign ribbons. Ribbons are clickable to their respective aerial campaigns / operations / aviation periods.

Images Gallery



1 / 1
Image of the HAL Dhruv (Polaris)
Image from official HAL marketing material.


Advertisements




Disclaimer | Privacy Policy | Cookies


2023 Military Pay Chart Military Ranks DoD Dictionary Conversion Calculators Military Alphabet Code Military Map Symbols

The "Military Factory" name and MilitaryFactory.com logo are registered ® U.S. trademarks protected by all applicable domestic and international intellectual property laws. All written content, illustrations, and photography are unique to this website (unless where indicated) and not for reuse/reproduction in any form. Material presented throughout this website is for historical and entertainment value only and should not to be construed as usable for hardware restoration, maintenance, or general operation. We do not sell any of the items showcased on this site. Please direct all other inquiries to militaryfactory AT gmail.com. No A.I. was used in the generation of this content; site is 100% curated by humans.

Part of a network of sites that includes GlobalFirepower, a data-driven property used in ranking the top military powers of the world, WDMMA.org (World Directory of Modern Military Aircraft), WDMMW.org (World Directory of Modern Military Warships), SR71blackbird.org, detailing the history of the world's most iconic spyplane, and MilitaryRibbons.info, cataloguing military medals and ribbons.

View day-by-day actions of the American Civil War with CivilWarTimeline.net. View day-by-day actions of World War II with SecondWorldWarHistory.com.


©2023 www.MilitaryFactory.com • All Rights Reserved • Content ©2003-2023 (20yrs)