Indian Military

(Photos: courtesy Ajai Shukla)




The Dhruv Mark III has been improved over the earlier Dhruv models with the fitment of 21 improved systems. The differences that are visually apparent include:
1. The Turbomeca Shakti engine, which has a sleeker air intake, which is slanted backwards and set more flush with the engine cowling than the intakes of the 2B2 engine in the Dhruv Mk I.

2. The Dhruv Mk III has an glass cockpit with an Integrated Standby Instrument System (ISIS), built by Datasol, Bangalore.
3. A Standby Engine Instrument (SEI), built by Astronautics, Israel, which provides emergency engine information when all the multi-function displays (MFDs) go blank, or the computer fails totally. The SEI system consists of the basic instruments required to fly and to land the helicopter, including a gyro horizon, an airspeed indicator, a barometric altimeter, current heading through a magnetic compass, and engine parameters, including torque, rpm, and power. All these parameters are fed from separate stand-alone sensors --- not from the main systems --- in order to provide true redundancy.
4. An Active Vibration Control System (AVCS), a 3-D vibration control system in which 6 circular actuators nullify the natural vibrations of the main and tail rotors, as well as the many gearboxes on the Dhruv. This is done by detecting the vibrations and generating an opposite set of forces. You can see two of the actuators fitted on the rear wall of the Dhruv.
5. A noise reduction blanket that coats the inside of the helicopter cabin.
6. A state-of-the-art pilot’s seat, built by Fisher, Germany