Indian Army grounds ALH Dhruv helicopters after Jammu crash

The Indian Army has grounded its fleet of ALH Dhruv helicopters amid ongoing counterterrorism operations in the Jammu and Kashmir region following the May 4 crash in Kishtwar that resulted in the death of one soldier.

This is the second time in the last two months that the Indian Army has grounded its fleet of ALH Dhruv helicopters for checks.

The first crash had taken place in Mumbai in March this year when a ALH Dhruv helicopter of the Indian Navy had gone down after performing VVIP duties.

The other mishap had occurred in Kochi, Kerala in April when a Coast Guard helicopter crashed landed while during a test.

“In view of the crash in which one Army jawan lost his life on May 4, operations of the ALH Dhruv choppers have been halted as a precautionary measure by the force,” Defence officials told ANI.

The grounding of the ALH Dhruv helicopters impacted the operations of the Indian Army as military movements had to rely on the Cheetah and Chetak fleet even as high-intensity operations are going on in the Rajouri and Baramulla districts of Jammu and Kashmir against terrorist groups based in Pakistan.

The ALH Dhruv is the mainstay of the Indian Army which flies them extensively in high altitude and other operational areas.

The Army Aviation Corps uses different variants of these choppers including the Rudra Weapon System Integrated version.

(With agency inputs)

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