The Vietnam war, also referred to as the helicopters war, formed the test bed for validating the concepts of air mobility and assault and the advent of the military helicopter in the true sense. Helicopters today are integral part of land, sea and air operations of modern armies and are being increasingly employed in subconventional operations (counter-insurgency and counter-terrorist operations) across the world. This trend is likely to continue in the future, with helicopters acquiring special features as in the case of Black Hawks used in ‘Operation Neptune Spear’.

Military aviation today is looking at the next-generation of military helicopters and the strategy to modernise vertical-lift capability long term, with improved avionics, electronics, range, speed, propulsion, survivability and high altitude performance. The philosophy is to improve on the present limitations by examining emerging technologies within the realm of the possible, with speeds in excess of 170 knots, combat range of 800 km, hover with full combatload under high/hot conditions and with a degree of autonomous flight capability. There is a need to harness technological innovation by looking beyond current force technology and identifying possible next-generation solutions in areas such as propulsion, airframe materials, rotor systems, engine technology, survivability equipment and mission systems, among others.

Future Developments & Expanding Capabilities

The advances in helicopter designs have not been as impressive as for fighter aircraft. While jet fighters are in their fifth-generation, the helicopters are still strutting around with the same old designs and airframes, with mostly upgrades to its credit – It has been without a new helicopter design since the induction in the 1980s of the Apache attack helicopter built by Boeing. The Apache AH-64E (Block III), the latest version also called ‘The Guardian’ is a vivid example, where even though 26 new technologies have been incorporated, relating mainly to more powerful engines, composite rotor blades, upgraded transmission system and capability to control UAVs, the main design and configuration remains the same.

The global helicopter industry is undergoing a significant transformation as are customer demands and the capabilities offered by cutting-edge technologies

However, today the global helicopter industry is undergoing a significant transformation as are customer demands and the capabilities offered by cutting-edge technologies. Significant advances in technology such as computation structural dynamics modelling, expanded use of additive manufacturing, fly-by-wire controls, advanced condition based maintenance (CBM), health and usage monitoring systems (HUMS) and advanced turbine engine programmes, promise a big leap in rotorcraft capabilities. Governments worldwide are initiating new defence procurements, while simultaneously developing and expanding indigenous production and development capabilities for both military and civil applications – India has also taken the lead in this area by its recent exposition of its ‘Make in India’ policy in the defence sector and inviting the private sector to be part and parcel of the growing defence aerospace industry.

The US remains the world’s largest purchaser and developer of military helicopters, with major aviation giants like Sikorsky, Boeing and Bell taking the lead in the design, development and manufacture of state-of-art military and civil helicopters. The US military has embarked on the most transformative science and technology initiative in decades – the joint multi-role (JMR) technology demonstration effort, where the industry plans to prove the revolutionary capabilities of high speed approaches for a family of future military products. In Russia the Moscow-based Russian Helicopters has been a lead player in the global helicopter industry, with its major thrust being towards design and development of military helicopters. Europe has in the last two decades also emerged as a major contender in the helicopter market, both in the civil and military domain — Airbus Helicopter formerly ‘Eurocopter’ and Anglo-Italian AgustaWestland are the two major companies whose products have flooded the civil as well as military market around the globe.

The new generation helicopter platforms are expected to feature the latest advances in aeronautics giving military helicopters improved flight performance especially in relation to speed. This offers the new generation machines unprecedented capabilities—increased autonomy, reduced acoustic signatures (enhanced stealth), more accurate navigation systems, enhanced data acquisition and protection systems, more effective weapons and munitions and improved reliability and maintainability at lower operating costs. Helicopters will have to become truly modular, making it possible to change part of the system without affecting overall integrity. The concept of modularity is likely to increase, especially with the emergence of the concept of multi-role machines.

World over today the armed forces are seriously looking at the multi-role concept, due to the changing nature of conflicts and financial constraints. This concept basically revolves around the use of utility helicopters both in the lift/logistics and armed role. The size of such helicopters would be between cargo and light observation and their armament would generally be restricted to guns and rockets. Some of these may also have the capability to be fitted with air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles. The ALH is a classic example of a multi-role helicopter with its utility and armed version (Rudra) available to the Indian military. The US military is already moving in this direction and their JMR fleet vision envisages narrowing down the more than 20 helicopter types spread across the services to only three basic models, plus a new ‘ultra’ category extending vertical take-off and landing aircraft into the domain of medium-sized fixed-wing transports. The vision lays down that no helicopter in all three basic categories—light, medium and heavy—will be slower than today’s fastest conventional helicopter and should be powerful enough to carry their predecessors as external payload.

With regards to data acquisition, day/night observation and detection capabilities will increase and become more diversified specially in respect to information sharing and cooperation with other aircraft and UAVs. This aspect has already been incorporated in the Block III Apache model. Target engagement capabilities with regard to weapon range and precision is likely to remain the focus of future development. With subconventional operations gaining ascendency around the world, helicopter survivability will assume greater significance. Advances in stealth, such as reductions in radar and acoustic signatures offer major results in this area, as does the development of early detection/jamming countermeasure capabilities.

Some of the above technologies are already being incorporated in the development of Eurocopters X2 and X3, and Sikorsky’s X2 coaxial compound helicopter as technology demonstrators. The main emphasis is on speed, stealth, reliability and survivability. Many of these designs go well beyond the tried and tested rotor and propeller system that has defined generations of helicopter technology since their introduction into the military use in the 1940. The coaxial rotor design by cutting out the requirement of a tail rotor, provides a whole heap of benefits to include more power (enhancing the payload capability), greater speeds, stability and noise reduction. In fact in its demonstrative flight, Sikorsky’s X2 achieved a speed of 460 kmph a major leap from the current standard helicopter speeds – the X2 has a rear tail fin rotor which provides the speed boost rather than anti-torque thrust. Its military version the Sikorsky ‘S-97 Raider’ is stated to be the future light tactical scout helicopter of the US military. Eurocopters X3 technology demonstrator is another odd ball chopper that can’t seem to figure out whether it wants to be a helicopter or a plane. But this aircraft is already turning heads by having achieved speeds that are 50 per cent faster than the conventional helicopters and lower vibration levels. The X3 has two propellers on the side of the craft thereby removing the need for a tail rotor and is being projected by Airbus Helicopters for the military’s use in search and rescue, special forces operations and troop transport.

Finally, the development of innovative concepts, along the lines of V-22 Osprey (tilt rotor technology), could generate fresh momentum in the utility/logistics domain. The V-22 has operated extensively in Afghanistan and was instrumental in the rescue of a downed US pilot in Libya in 2013. AgustaWestland has also come up with a similar rotorcraft, the AW-609 — a significant player in the emerging tilt rotor market. AgustaWestland sees the craft as a troop transporter similar to the Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey. Such an aircraft would be ideal for deployment in our North-eastern region where the infrastructure is woefully inadequate. The latest in the tilt rotor field is ‘Bell’s V-280 Valor’ third-generation tilt rotor demonstrator. Bell’s Valor programme is a quantum technology jump on its earlier V-22 Osprey aircraft and attacks affordability with technology – the Valor is expected to fly in 2017.

Another area of future development is helicopter UAVs. Two avenues are already being explored and implemented in different countries—UAV-helicopter cooperation and development of rotary-wing UAVs. Lockheed Martin’s K-MAX helicopter UAV was deployed in Afghanistan for logistic resupply and has proved to be quite a hit. It has been able to fly in adverse weather conditions when manned helicopters could not fly. Northrop Grumman’s Fire Scout, is another helicopter UAV which is already in service with the US Navy capable of operating from ship decks. The latest in the unmanned field is the unmanned version of Sikorsky’s UH-60A Black Hawk helicopter modified for both manned and unmanned flights. The Indian military is also seriouslyexamining the unmanned options.

The Indian Scenario

The operational diversities of the Indian armed forces coupled with extremity and variety of terrain (from sea level to high altitude) underline the need for state-of-the-art, modern technology helicopters capable of operating both by day and night in a complex battlefield environment of future. As per reports the armed forces are looking to induct as many as 1,000 helicopters in the coming decade ranging from attack and high altitude reconnaissance to medium and heavy-lift variants. Presently the Indian military holds in its kitty approximately 600 helicopters of all types and class including specialised ones, but majority of these have far exceeded their lifespan and are either obsolete or nearing obsolescence. The Chetak/Cheetah held with the Army, Navy and Air Force are vintage and awaiting replacement. The latest attempt to replace these ageing and obsolescent helicopters has met a similar fate to that of the earlier procurement project of 2004 cancelled in 2008. The trials for the current project were completed in 2013 — in fray were the Airbus AS 550 C3 Fennec and the Russian Kamov Ka-226T (both state-of-the-art helicopters with latest avionics and glass cockpit). The decision to cancel this critical project was taken by the MoD in August last year after allegations of corruption and technical deviations in the selection process. With the ‘Make in India’ policy in place, a fresh RFI was issued in October last year with the aim of identifying probable Indian vendors including Indian companies forming joint ventures (JVs) with foreign companies. Indian majors like Tatas, Reliance, Mahindra, etc, were in the fray, looking at JVs with foreign majors like American Bell and Sikorsky, Russian (Kamov) and European Airbus Helicopters. However in a surprise move in December last year the government announced that 200 Ka-226 helicopters would be acquired from Russia in a government-to-government agreement under the aegis of ‘Make in India’ programme. The same was finalised during the Prime Ministers visit to Russia in January this year with HAL being made the nodal agency for working out detailed modalities with the Russian company Rosonboronexport under the ‘Make in India’ initiative. There has been no progress since. Navy is also looking to replace its current fleet of Chetak/modified Chetak-MATCH (midair torpedo carrying helicopter) with a twin engine, 4.5-tonne helicopter capable of operating from warship decks, as well as being armed with rockets/guns and lightweight torpedoes. RFI for this was issued last year with no further progress.

The X3 has two propellers on the side of the craft thereby removing the need for a tail rotor and is being projected by Airbus Helicopters for the military’s use in search and rescue, special forces operations and troop transport

In the light utility category, the ALH has already entered service with all three services and Coast Guard. The ALH has also been test evaluated for high altitude operations with the fitment of a more powerful engine ‘Shakti’ being produced jointly by HAL and French firm Turbomeca. This is a major achievement and will give a boost to helicopter operations in high altitude areas especially Siachen. The induction of the armed version of the ALH (Rudra) has already commenced with a unit currently under raising for the army – however a major drawback in the Rudra presently is the lack of a suitable anti-tank guided missile in its weapon arsenal. In the medium-lift category the Air Force holds the Mi-8 and the Mi-17 Russian helicopters. While the Mi-8 fleet is in the process of being replaced by Mi-17s, the majority of the existing Mi-17 fleet has been upgraded/refurbished in respect of avionics and night capability. Currently 80 Mi-17V5 helicopters are being acquired from Russia and another 59 have been cleared for acquisition — these helicopters are upgraded versions, with glass cockpit, night capability and enhanced armament package.

In the heavy-lift category there is nothing worthwhile held with the Indian military, barring a few Russian Mi-26 helicopters whose high altitude capability is poor. Based on the army’s requirement of a suitable helicopter capable of lifting under slung the ultra-light howitzer being acquired from the United States for deployment in mountains, the process for acquisition was set into motion. Trials for the same have been completed with the American Chinook CH-47 scoring over the Russian Mi-26- Fifteen numbers have been cleared for induction with the likelihood of another six in the future.

The weakest link in the Indian military inventory is the holding of specialised helicopters like the attack and anti-submarine warfare. (ASW). The Mi-25/Mi-35 attack helicopters held are vintage and require replacement on priority. Even the Sea King ASW helicopters held with the Navy need upgrade/ replacement with a state-of-the-art modern ASW helicopter. In the recent trials conducted for acquisition of attack helicopters the American Apache Longbow has been selected over the Russian Mi-28 (Havoc). The induction of 22 Apaches Block III (latest upgraded version) is likely to commence this year. The army has also put in its requirement for 39 Apaches Block III for its three Strike Corps – in-principle approval for the same has already been given by the MoD. The Navy had also conducted extensive trials for replacement of its multi-role Sea King fleet with the European NH-90 and American Sikorsky 70B in fray—in the recent Defence Acquisition Council meeting the selection of Sikorsky 70B was approved but as usual there has been no further progress.

Indigenous Development

In India the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), a public sector undertaking, continues to dominate the military aircraft industry. However, with the opening up of the defence manufacturing sector to the private industry and thrust on indigenous production capability with a ‘Make in India’ policy in place, this equation is likely to change. Presently the most significant development in the HAL helicopter development venture is the light combat helicopter (LCH), stated to be a state-of-the-art attack helicopterwith capability to operate in the mountains. The LCH uses the technology of the existing ALH and its configurations, except that the fuselage is suitably modified and streamlined for tandem seating required for a modern-day attack helicopter. An indigenous attack helicopter is a step in the right direction as it has been tailored to suit the terrain and climatic conditions of our area of operations – its ability to operate in the mountains is a major achievement. A number of development flights have taken place since its maiden flight on March 29, 2010, and it is expected to be ready for trial evaluation by end of this year. Both Air Force and Army are the potential customers for induction of the same. The HAL is also looking at the development and manufacture of a three-tonne class light utility helicopter (LUH), which presently has reached the ground run stage – this development is to cater to the light observation and reconnaissance class of helicopters for the military. While HAL claims to field it by 2017, the current progress on its development belies these claims.

The present involvement of the private industry is limited to the two JVs by Tata Advanced Systems Limited, one with Sikorsky for making S-92 helicopter cabins and the other with AgustaWestland for the manufacture of the AW119 Ke light helicopter (civil version). Separate facilities have been established in Hyderabad and production commenced in both cases. However many more significant private players have now entered the field with agreements with foreign OEMs – this is likely to have a major impact on the helicopter industry in India and will put HAL on notice. The involvement of private industry in helicopter development needs to be encouraged by the government in order to stop the monopoly of HAL and ensure greater competition in the market. The industry also needs to keep in mind the developing future helicopter technology and incorporate the same in its projects. There is an urgent need to develop a collaborative approach towards developing helicopter manufacturing base in the country for using the strengths of both the public and private sector towards fulfilling national aspirations.