Another ‘Make in India’ initiative bears fruit
The Ministry of Agriculture had, in May 2020, enlisted the services of UK-based company, Micron to repurpose two MI-17 helicopters for spraying atomized pesticide in case of a locust attack. But when the COVID-19 pandemic started affecting worldwide, Micron informed the Ministry of the inevitable delay in the manufacturing and supply of the helicopter modification kit to the Indian Air Force (IAF).
When the locust attack materialized from the last week of May, IAF entrusted No. 3 Base Repair Depot in Chandigarh to indigenously design and develop an Airborne Locust Control System (ALCS) for MI-17 helicopters.
The system has been successfully designed using local components. An auxiliary tank of 800 litres capacity fitted inside the helicopter can be filled with the pesticide Malathion in appropriate concentration. The pesticide can then be sprayed through the nozzles mounted on the sides of the helicopter by using an electrical pump as well as compressed air.
Around 800 litres of the pesticide can be sprayed in about 40 minutes covering approximately 750 hectares in the locust infected area. The ground and airborne trials of ALCS on a modified MI-17 helicopter have been successfully conducted by a team of Test Pilots and Test Engineers.
