Cheetah Helicopters | Aérospatiale SA 315B Lama | Indian Army | Indian Air Force | Indian Aviation Core | Indian Defence Forces
The Aérospatiale SA 315B Lama is a French single-engined helicopter developed to meet hot and high operational requirements of the Indian Armed Forces. It combines the lighter Aérospatiale Alouette II airframe with Alouette III components and powerplant. The Lama possesses exceptional high altitude performance.
The helicopters have been built under licence by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in India, known as the Cheetah, HAL later developed an upgraded variant, powered by the Turbomeca TM 333-2M2 engine, which is known as the Cheetal. An armed version, marketed as the Lancer, was also produced by HAL. It was also built under licence by Helibras in Brazil as the Gavião.
A significant number of SA 315B Lamas were manufactured under licence in India by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), under the name Cheetah. More than three decades after production in India began, HAL was still receiving export orders for the original Cheetah. Along with the Alouette III, the Cheetah was a key product for HAL experience from manufacturing the type aided in the later development of more advanced indigenous helicopters such as the HAL Dhruv. During the 1990s, HAL developed an armed light attack helicopter based upon the Cheetah, which was given the name Lancer.
In 2006, HAL proposed a modernised variant to the Indian Army, designated as Cheetal, the principal change of which was the adoption of a modern, more powerful Turbomeca TM 333-2M2 powerplant in the place of the Artouste; HAL promoting the Cheetal's capabilities for operating in high altitude environments, such as the Siachen Glacier. Other improvements include a new warning indicates, a cockpit voice recorder, flight monitoring system, artificial horizon, and modernised electronics. In 2006, an initial 10 Cheetahs were ordered by the Indian Air Force. In February 2013, it was announced that the Indian and Nepalese Armies had signed a 300 crore contract for the urgent procurement of a further 20 Cheetahs.
The Lama was developed specifically to provide a rotorcraft with exceptional high-altitude performance. In practice, the type found considerable use within regions that possessed extensive mountain ranges, such as South America and India, being capable of lifting loads and deploying personnel in areas that had been previously impossible to have otherwise achieved.
During 1969, a series of early demonstration flights involving the SA 315B were performed in the Himalayas during one such flight, a single rotorcraft carrying a crew of two and 120 kg of fuel landed and then took off at what was then the highest altitude to be recorded, 7,500 m (24,605 ft). On 21 June 1972, a Lama with a single pilot (Jean Boulet) aboard established a helicopter absolute altitude record of 12,442 m (40,814 ft), a record which still stands as of December 2018. During the same flight, the Lama's engine flamed out at the peak altitude of the flight, which led to an inadvertent record being set for the longest ever autorotation after which the rotorcraft was brought to a safe unpowered landing. Days before, the same pilot and aircraft had set a similar record at a higher weight.
Following in the aftermath of the records set by the helicopter, a major order was placed by the Indian government in 1971. The Indian order included an arrangement for the indefinite licence production of the SA 315B to be conducted by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) at their facility in Bangalore, India. The first Indian-assembled SA 315B flew on 6 October 1972, with deliveries starting in December 1973; Indian-produced helicopters were given the name Cheetah. Operated by both the Indian Air Force and the Indian Army's Aviation Corps, the Cheetah have proved capable, operating in difficult and remote areas such the mountainous Siachen region, and during times of conflict with neighbouring Pakistan. Cheetahs have also been operated for civil purposes, such as aerial agriculture
In 2009, due to issues with the newly introduced HAL Dhruv helicopter, the Indian Army increased operational usage of their older Cheetah/Cheetal rotorcraft to meet the temporary shortfall. In September 2012, it was reported that an ever-decreasing amount of spare parts compatible with the Cheetah has led to the type's operators being required to cannibalise helicopters in order to provide components for others. In August 2016, it was reported that No. 114 Helicopter Unit were keen to introduce the upgraded Cheetal as a replacement for its existing Cheetah rotorcraft for continuous deployment on the Siachen Glacier.
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