Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) handed over a Cheetah helicopter to the Namibian air force at a function held at the HAL stall at Aero India 2011 on Wednesday, the opening day of the eighth edition of the air show.
The HAL has also agreed to supply two Chetaks to Namibia.
HAL managing director (helicopter complex) and director (corporate planning and marketing) P Soundara Rajan handed over the helicopter to Namibian defence minister Maj Gen (Retd) Charles Namolah.
Soundara Rajan said HAL was committed to meeting the target of handing over two Chetaks to Namibia. “We are committed in handing over the Chetaks to Namibia and the work in this regard is in full swing,” he said.
The Namibian delegation included the high commissioner to India Samuel K Mbmbo and Namibian air force commander air vice-marshal MK Pinehas. General manager (helicopter division) MS Srinath, and general manager (helicopter MRO division) Anirudh Kumar were among those present from the HAL side.
The five-seater Cheetah is a high performance helicopter designed for operation over a wide range of weight, centre of gravity and altitude conditions. Several military and civil operators all over the world are operating this helicopter. This multi-role, multi-purpose helicopter is highly manoeuvrable and is considered one of the best suited for operations in hot tropical weather and missions at high altitude. The helicopter can be utilised for communication duties (passenger transport), logistics support (cargo and material transport), casualty evacuation, search and rescue, surveillance and observation and under slung operations.
The Cheetah is powered by one Turbomeca Artosute III B Turbo Shaft Engine.
