Several Indian media report that the New Delhi government will not go ahead with the plan to locally build Russian Kamov Ka-226T light helicopters, whose $1 billion deal had been closed since 2015 but never been signed.
It is not yet official, but after so many years of stalling, this news would hardly surprise anyone.
The Air Force and Army have a desperate need to replace nearly 400 Cheetah and Chetak light helicopters (respective names for the locally manufactured Aerospatiale Lama and Alouette-III), which gave origin to the requirement to procure 200 light helicopters, 160 of which would be manufactured in the country under the “Make in India” policy. Kamov Ka-226 was the winner of that competition, but time passed and the government has never signed the contracts to give effect to the agreements.
Probably this is due to the successful test campaign of the LUH (Light Utility Helicopter), a light helicopter designed and manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), developed precisely to meet the same requirements which led to the competition that won the Ka-226.
The LUH is a light (3 T), single-engine, developed by HAL for the civil and commercial market. Powered by a Turbomeca/Safran Ardiden-1H 800kW, produced in India under license, the LUH has the capability to reach altitudes of over 6,500m, for transfer, rescue, or observation missions high in the Himalayas.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is currently visiting his counterpart, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in India, to close several trade and defense deals, including the provision of fighter jets, tanks, missiles, and assault rifles. Undoubtedly, both parties should continue to negotiate for the Ka-226T, which was recently promoted in the Dubai Air Show 2021.
In the opinion of experts, India could choose to procure a batch of Ka-226Ts directly from Russia to cover its most urgent needs and opt for the domestically designed LUH.
This is similar to the case of the Rafale, which won the bidding for a medium fighter, of which more than 100 units were to be procured, many of which were to be manufactured locally by HAL. But finally, New Delhi decided to cancel the agreement and buy 36 of these fighters directly from France.
