Rudra, the home-grown weaponised Advanced Light Helicopter, was handed over to the Army, days after it received its initial certification for operations.
To redefine tactics
The day-and-night operating aircraft is fitted with targeting systems, warning and countermeasure systems and survivability features. It can carry a mix of 70 rockets, anti-tank missiles, air-to-air missiles and 20-mm turret gun. “Rudra is all set to redefine battle tactics in modern-day conflicts,” said a Defence Ministry statement.
It adds to the Army’s capability to search and destroy any targets, said HAL Helicopter Division managing director P. Soundara Rajan, who handed over the documents to Deputy Chief of Army Staff (P&S) Lt. Gen. Narendra Singh on Friday during the ongoing Aero India 2013. It can take in additional systems such as obstacle avoidance system, IR (infrared) jammer and data link.
Rudra was designed by the Rotary Wing Research and Design Centre and tested extensively over different terrains.
