ALH Dhruv Crisis: India’s Choppers Still Not Cleared to Fly

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India’s entire fleet of Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) has been grounded since January 2025, following a fatal crash of an Indian Coast Guard chopper. This marks the second such crash in under a year, raising serious concerns about the reliability of this indigenous platform.

Initial findings point to a critical mechanical failure in the swash plate assembly of the helicopter. With over 330 ALHs grounded and no resolution in sight, this could be the longest grounding in Indian military aviation history.

This situation has severely affected the Indian armed forces’ search-and-rescue (SAR) capability and operational preparedness, especially at high-altitude posts. Additionally, thousands of pilots are grounded, losing flight proficiency and morale.

The crisis exposes deep-rooted issues — lack of transparency, inadequate oversight, minimal competition, and a design ecosystem resistant to innovation. Despite 30+ years and 400,000+ flying hours, ALH is still seen as a work-in-progress. There is a need for radical changes, not patchwork fixes, to restore trust and capability in India’s military rotorcraft program.

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