The system is proposed for deployment as part of the locust control operation.
New Delhi:
According to a statement released Tuesday by the IAF, the Indian Air Force has modified two Mi-17 helicopters for the atomized spraying of airborne pesticides.
Using all the native components, the atomized spraying of airborne pesticides was successfully carried out in the air thanks to a configuration of nozzles mounted on both sides on the external trusses of a Mi-17 helicopter, adds the press release.
The nozzles used for this purpose are a mixture of commercially available nozzles as well as those developed by the Central Scientific Instruments Organization (CSIO), Chandigarh.
The pesticide malathion in appropriate concentration would be filled in the internal 800-liter auxiliary auxiliary tank installed inside the helicopter and pumped into the nozzles using an electric pump as well as compressed air, reaching nearly 40 minutes of sterilization time in the infected area covering an area of approximately 750 hectares in each mission.
A team of test pilots and test engineers from an aircraft and a system test establishment, Bangalore, successfully conducted ground and flight tests of the Airborne Locust Control System (ALCS) ) on a modified Mi-17 helicopter.
The system is proposed for use with malathion for deployment in the locust control operation.
Being a locally developed system, the ALCS would offer inherent benefits of in-house maintenance, future scalability, savings in foreign exchange, and help make the country self-sufficient in terms of aviation technology.
At first, anticipating a locust attack, the Ministry of Agriculture signed a contract with M / s Micron, in the United Kingdom, to modify two Mi-17 helicopters for spraying atomized pesticides in order to stop reproduction locust in May.
However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the UK-based company could not manufacture and supply the modification kit to the IAF until September for system integration and testing, adds the communicated.
Meanwhile, an unprecedented locust attack began to begin from May last week and quickly spread to many states.
“In view of the delay envisaged in the supply of modification kits by M / s Micron, the Indian Air Force instructed the repair depot for base No. 3 located in Chandigarh to undertake the difficult task of to design and develop in an indigenous way an airborne locust control system (ALCS) for Mi-17 helicopters, “added the press release.
(With the exception of the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
