Hindustan Aeronautics' Dhruv choppers to get monitors to dodge obstacles

The agreement, announced at the Aero India 2023, includes transfer of intellectual property (IP) for the design and manufacture of the OAS for Indian helicopters and potential future exports

Sporadic crashes, such as the one in December 2021 that caused the deaths of 13 people including the serving Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, are tragic reminders of the threat that obstacles in their flight path pose to helicopters.

Such obstacles may be hills, towers, power lines, aerial cableways or pylons. The probability of such threats increases during bad weather and low-level flight manoeuvres.

To safeguard its helicopters against such accidents, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) on Tuesday announced a collaboration agreement with German company Hensoldt for equipping HAL choppers with an “Obstacle Avoidance System” (OAS) that would warn