BENGALURU. At the Aero India 2019 show, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) and Safran Electronics & Defense announce the signing of three new contracts for Safran-designed autopilots for various helicopters manufactured by the former, a Safran press statement said February 20.
Safran Electronics & Defense will provide HAL with state-of-the-art development and integration capabilities to replace existing test and integration benches and set up a software workshop to develop and validate control laws necessary for the use of autopilots.
HAL has also selected Safran Electronics & Defense to supply the autopilot for its new Light Utility Helicopter (LUH). The development of the control laws for this new 3-tonne class machine will be done jointly by Safran and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd.
Safran has been selected by HAL to develop the specific control laws for the Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) costal security version for the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard.
The autopilot is similar to the one that equips existing versions of ALH and LCH. The manufacturing and maintenance of this system is now accomplished by HAL Hyderabad following a transfer of technology.
World leader in helicopter flight control systems, Safran Electronics & Defense is India’s leading supplier in the fields of autopilots and inertial navigation. Automatic Flight Control Systems for civil and military helicopters are designed to provide flight assistance and autopilot functions.
The main component of this system is the flight control computer. Also called autopilot, it is equipped with control laws specific to each aircraft.
With the signing of these three new contracts with HAL, Safran is pursuing its strategy of becoming a leading technology partner in the development of the Indian aviation industry and making the Make in India policy a reality.
This strong relationship, maintained for several decades with Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, extends the strategic partnership between India and France.
