Indian Army to induct attack chopper ‘Rudra’ this year
06 Sep 2011
New Delhi: The Indian Army will soon get a substantial boost in aerial firepower with the induction of the attack version of indigenously-built Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) 'Rudra'. A derivative of the ALH Dhruv, the Rudra will be the first weaponised chopper built in the country.
It will be inducted into the Army Aviation Corps sometime in the current financial year, officials said.
The "heavily-loaded" ALH Rudra will be armed with an array of guns, rocket pods, air-to-air and anti-tank guided missiles.
The Rudra will begin a fresh final round of firing trials this month, starting with its 20-mm turret gun. This will be followed by trials of its 70mm rockets and MBDA-supplied Mistral air-to-air missiles in November.
Aiming for initial operational clearance (IOC) by December this year, deliveries of the production series of helicopters are scheduled for before March 2012.
The weapon systems are currently being ground-tested in integrated configuration (IADS).
