Ecuadorian Air Force selling its remaining Dhruv helicopters

[ashok321]

http://www.janes.com/article/64845/ecuadorian-air-force-selling-its-remaining-dhruv-helicopters

The Ecuadorian Air Force's (Fuerza Aérea Ecuatoriana: FAE) three remaining HAL Dhruv helicopters are for sale, Minister of Defence Ricardo Patiño announced on 20 October.

Seven of the light utility twin-engine helicopters were purchased new in 2008 for USD45 million, and were the first of the type known to operate in the Americas. However, four were lost in crashes between 2009 and 2015, and the others were subsequently grounded. On 14 October 2015, then-Minister of Defence Fernando Cordero announced the helicopters would not be used again.

The Ecuadorian government is now seeking a buyer for the three remaining aircraft, which are stored at Guayaquil Air Base.


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[Sugarcane]

What's the rate per kg?

 

[Mrc]

Who is buying??

 

[Abingdonboy]

If 4 out of 7 crashed, only a fool would buy the remaining 3.

Well these guys were using the ALH to fly their president, clearly they were more than satisfied with the Dhruv's flight safety. if they are unable to operate any time (be it American, European or Indian) a/c without crashing them that exposes issues with their training and support infrastructure. I see many falsely using the FAE's expereince with the ALH to diminish the ALH's record but the facts speak for themselves. >220 ALHs are in service with another 30-40 being produced a year for the Indian Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard and others, the ALH has spawned off numerous sucessful derivatives:

Rudra:

(check out the flight line behind the Golden demo Mk.3)

LCH:

LUH:

Has operated in the heights of Siachin, the Deserts of Thar and everywhere in between and has proven itself as amongst the finest flying machines ever created and is constantly being refined (Mk.1, Mk.2, Mk.3, Mk.4 and beyond), not to mention it is the type flown by the Indian Air Force's display team (Sarang). I can understand the compulsion of some to diminsh this project but their motives are entirely transparent.


Siachin:

"Unsafe machine":

 

[Abingdonboy]

The Indian Army's (Northern Command) first responders to Nepal's 2015 earthquake, their trusty (sorry, unsafe) ALHs :

Nepal Army's ALH:

 

[AMCA]

HAL shouldn't have handed over maintenance to Ecuador. Over 200 in service wIth Indian Armed forces, being the only machine that can survive Siachin and Thar, such negative publicity will tamper the image of HAL.

India should buy back these helecopters, do an MRO and use it for our front line duties and show them how its done and also to the world how safe these machinese really are.

Ecuador selected the Druvs post pitching it against Russian and French alternatives , how could it have gone wrong all of a sudden?

 

[Abingdonboy]

India should buy back these helecopters, do an MRO and use it for our front line duties and show them how its done and also to the world how safe these machinese really are.

Nah, the FAE's ALHs are Mk.2, the production standard is now Mk.3, those ALHs of the FAE would be less capable than what is now being inducted by the Indian armed forces but a buy back isn't a bad idea, I'm sure HAL could put them to use in some role.

Ecuador selected the Druvs post pitching it against Russian and French alternatives , how could it have gone wrong all of a sudden?

Check out the FAE's safety record, they crash every single type of a/c they have irrespective of whether it is French, Indian or American.

In retrospect the FAE were not the right customer for HAL.

 

[damiendehorn]

If Ecuador don't have a buy back option in the original contract, its doubtful they will find any buyers unless its sold at spare and repair prices. HAL sold the aircraft at a high discount (to win the contract) expecting to recoup the money by charging high support fees.

 

[Bad Guy]

LCH:

Was just surfing around internet.

Courtesy: Thai Military and Asian Region
TD - 4 -
http://*********************/forum/attachments/td4-jpg.8910/

LCH during its cold weather trials. (HAL Photo)

LCH during its hot weather trials. (HAL Photo)

 

[Bad Guy]

LCH fires rockets in weaponized configuration. (HAL Photo)

LCH during hot and high altitude trials. (HAL Photo)

LCH during its cold weather trials. (HAL Photo)

 

[Zee-shaun]

What a waste of money.
Dump them in Afghanistan.

 

[Bad Guy]

What a waste of money.
Dump them in Afghanistan.

Except Ecuador, other countries are operating them, some like Peru are preparing to order. It's Ecuador's fault, not India's.

 

[Blue Marlin]

Well these guys were using the ALH to fly their president, clearly they were more than satisfied with the Dhruv's flight safety. if they are unable to operate any time (be it American, European or Indian) a/c without crashing them that exposes issues with their training and support infrastructure. I see many falsely using the FAE's expereince with the ALH to diminish the ALH's record but the facts speak for themselves. >220 ALHs are in service with another 30-40 being produced a year for the Indian Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard and others, the ALH has spawned off numerous sucessful derivatives:

Rudra:

(check out the flight line behind the Golden demo Mk.3)

LCH:

LUH:

Has operated in the heights of Siachin, the Deserts of Thar and everywhere in between and has proven itself as amongst the finest flying machines ever created and is constantly being refined (Mk.1, Mk.2, Mk.3, Mk.4 and beyond), not to mention it is the type flown by the Indian Air Force's display team (Sarang). I can understand the compulsion of some to diminsh this project but their motives are entirely transparent.


Siachin:

"Unsafe machine":

dont you think the question does not arise to the dhruv being a crap bird, but its difficulty in maintenance.
i read that the dhruv which was "gifted" to nepal was not actually gifted and were maintained my indian personal.
same would apply to the Maldives, Mauritius peru, and suriname. and if they are doing alright with otg indian maintenance. then one would assume it must take a lot of work to keep her flying. so its a case of cheap to buy but a lot to maintain.

 

[Bad Guy]

dont you think the question does not arise to the dhruv being a crap bird, but its difficulty in maintenance.
i read that the dhruv which was "gifted" to nepal was not actually gifted and were maintained my indian personal.
same would apply to the Maldives, Mauritius peru, and suriname. and if they are doing alright with otg indian maintenance. then one would assume it must take a lot of work to keep her flying. so its a case of cheap to buy but a lot to maintain.

We will look ahead for that. Remember, it crashed only in Ecuador; even crashing US and Russian aircrafts.

 

[Abingdonboy]

dont you think the question does not arise to the dhruv being a crap bird, but its difficulty in maintenance.
i read that the dhruv which was "gifted" to nepal was not actually gifted and were maintained my indian personal.
same would apply to the Maldives, Mauritius peru, and suriname. and if they are doing alright with otg indian maintenance. then one would assume it must take a lot of work to keep her flying. so its a case of cheap to buy but a lot to maintain.

One can't discount this possibility. Let's not forget that this was HAL's first major export deal and that too to a customer halfway across the world where HAL has ZERO presence. The global OEMs HAL competes with (Airbus, Bell etc) have offices in pretty much every major capital and has at least a footprint in every market whether that be civilian or military. The production side is one thing but the support side is just as important and here I know HAL are working furiously on. Most military systems these days are unfathamobly complex and require extensive specialist support throughout their lifespan.

Pretty much every top notch system out there (F-22, Rafale, Typhoon, AH-64, Ch-47, C-17, P-8 etc etc) require an increidble ammount of support from their OEMs thereafter so it would be false to try and make out the ALH was an outlier in this regard, on the contrary it is very much in line with any other modern military product out there that would become u/s in a matter of days without proper maintainence. There is no such thing as a simple cutting edge military system anymore.

This was always going to be a bumpy road, one doesn't become a sucess overnight. Lessons will be learnt and applied for the future.