HAL hopeful of further sales of Dhruv ALH in South American countries

HAL hopeful of further sales of Dhruv ALH in South American countries 17 July 2008 - Farnborough: Having secured a contract for seven 'Dhruv' advanced light helicopters (ALH) from the South American Republic of Ecuador last month, Indian aerospace major Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) is now in talks with other countries in the region for further orders. HAL chairman, Ashok Baweja, confirmed that HAL was in negotiations with other South American nations for sale of the Dhruv ALH and that the company hoped to finalise deals in a month's time. He was hopeful that two or three South American nations would soon be on HAL's export list. The Dhruv is a 5.5-tonne weight class multi-role, multi-mission, advanced light helicopter and is turning out to be a favourite at recent international air shows with the Indian Air Force (IAF) 'Sarang' formation flying team receiving a lot of attention. HAL is negotiating with Bolivia and Venezuela for the sale of five and seven Dhruv choppers respectively. These would be configured mainly in the transport role. In the European region, HAL is in talks with Turkey for the supply of around 17 Dhruv helicopters configured in the ambulance role. HAL won the $51 million ALH order from Ecuador in the face of intense competition from other helicopter majors, such as Elbit, Eurocoptor and Kazan. With the order, India joins a select group of countries with the capability to bid for international helicopter contracts in a market so far dominated by US, European and Russian manufacturers.