HAL And Argentina Defence Ministry’s LoI For Light And Medium Utility Helicopters

Thursday, the Ministry of Defense of Argentina and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) signed a letter of intent (LoI) to work together and buy light and medium utility helicopters for the Argentine Republic’s military forces.

Jorge Taiana, the Argentinian minister of defense, and C.B. Ananthakrishnan, the chief executive officer of HAL, signed the LoI in front of Francisco Cafiero, the secretary of international affairs, Hugo Javier Gobbi, and Dinesh Bhatia, both ambassadors.

Mr. Taiana said that the day was fun and a step toward a strong and growing partnership with HAL.

Second South American country

This is the second time that a country in South America has shown interest in helicopters made by HAL. In a deal worth $45.2 million, Ecuador bought seven advanced light helicopters (ALH) Dhruv in two batches, five in 2009 and two in 2011. But after four accidents, Ecuador ended the deal with HAL in October 2015. HAL has sent ALH Dhruv to places other than Ecuador, like Mauritius and Maldives.

During the day-long event, Mr. Taiana and his team went to HAL Airport to see a flying show of different HAL products. The defense PSU said that the Argentine team also went to Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas, Helicopter Division, and showed a lot of interest in HAL goods.

LCA Tejas

The LCA Tejas is said to have caught the attention of Argentina.

Earlier this year, at Aero India, Mr. Ananthakrishnan said that the PSU had offered to sell 15 Tejas planes to Argentina.