Reports in the media indicate that Ecuador has unilaterally terminated a contract with the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) after four of the seven Dhruv advanced light helicopters (ALH) bought in the period between 2009 and 2012 from the state-owned Indian aerospace major in a contract worth $45.2 million, were lost in crashes. Two of the recent accidents were caused by mechanical failure. The three remaining Dhruv helicopters have been grounded.

The Dhruv ALH project launched in 1984 had undeniably been plagued by problems as is usually the case with the development of new platforms. However, despite the impediments, the maiden flight of the prototype was undertaken in 2002. Along with supply of the platform to the Indian armed forces, HAL had embarked on a sales drive of its Dhruv as a low-cost alternative to military and utility helicopters from Western aerospace majors. Apart from the seven delivered to the Ecuadorian Air Force (EAF), HAL has also supplied Dhruv to Israel, Nepal, Mauritius, Suriname and the Maldives for operation by their respective security establishments. The Dhruv ALH had also been offered to Chile, Malaysia and Indonesia.

After the crash of one of the Dhruvs in October 2009, Ecuador reportedly considered returning the remaining six helicopters to HAL amid claims of the aircraft being technically flawed. However, in the crash investigation in which HAL participated, it was established that the cause of the accident was pilot error. In February 2011, the EAF was reported to be satisfied with the Dhruv’s performance and was considering placing further orders. In July 2011, media reports in Pakistan indicated that the Dhruv fleet with the EAF suffered from “poor after-sales service, expensive spares and over-invoicing”. EAF however, publically denied these reports describing them as “propaganda by vested interests” and praised the performance of Dhruv.

The problem of frequent crashes in a fleet of aircraft owing to technical reasons, whether fixed- or rotary-wing, can be attributable either to inadequate product support by the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) or to lack of proper maintenance by the operator. In this case, Ecuador alleged that HAL had failed to ship in the required time frame, some of the spare parts required for the upkeep of the helicopters as ordered by the EAF. As per a response by HAL, maintenance of the Dhruv fleet was exclusively the responsibility of the EAF as the two-year warranty period for HAL to provide after-sales service support for the seven helicopters had long expired. A very insensitive response indeed!

In India, more than 200 of these indigenous rotary-wing platforms are in service with the armed forces and have been used extensively in relief operations following natural calamities such as the flash floods in different parts of the country in the devastating earthquake in Nepal.

The Indian armed forces however have not been totally satisfied with the performance of the Dhruv. After operating six of these for some time, in 2008, the Indian Navy rejected the naval variant as it had failed to meet basic operational requirements and had then decided not to place further orders with HAL. However, in November 2013, the Indian Navy commissioned its first Naval Air Squadron at Kochi equipped with the land-based version. At the commissioning ceremony, the Indian Navy said, “The Dhruv helicopter has transformed into an advanced search and rescue helicopter, also used for missions like heliborne operations and armed patrol with night vision devices”. The Indian Army and the Indian Air Force that operate much larger fleets of the Dhruv have experienced frequent technical failures, some resulting in loss of aircraft as well as precious lives. Following the air crashes, the Dhruv fleet has had to be grounded a number of times pending investigation and determination of the reasons for the disasters. However, despite the technical inadequacies, the Indian armed forces have not only logged over 1,50,000 hours since its induction; but continue expand their inventories.

The decision by the Government of Ecuador to terminate the contract for Dhruv will undoubtedly be a major setback for the Indian aerospace major HAL. Unfortunately, on account of this development, credibility of HAL in the global aerospace market will be severely dented, explanations, clarifications and justification by the organisation notwithstanding. HAL cannot afford to treat foreign customers the way it can treat the captive domestic customers and get away with it. Unless HAL is prepared to address quality issues with all sincerity, especially in respect of their products marketed abroad, and sheds its bureaucratic approach to win the confidence of customers while dealing with them, there is little chance that its efforts to penetrate foreign markets will succeed.