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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 helicopter 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. ==Design and development== The SA 315B Lama was originally designed to meet an Nepalese Army Air Service and Indian Air Force requirement for a rotorcraft capable of undertaking operations at ''hot and high'' conditions. To achieve this, the Lama combined the Turbomeca Artouste turboshaft powerplant and the rotor system of the Alouette III with a reinforced version of the Alouette II's airframe. On 17 March 1969, the SA 315B Lama undertook its first flight. In 1970, a French airworthiness certificate for the type, and it was introduced to service as the ''Lama'' in July 1971. As with the Alouette series, the Lama can be fitted for various roles, such as light passenger transport or agricultural tasks. The military variants include liaison, observation, photography, air/sea rescue, transport and ambulance duties. The SA315B is particularly suited to mountainous areas due to its performance and can carry underslung loads of up to 1000 kg (2,205 lb). A significant number of SA 315B Lamas were manufactured under license 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.〔("HAL bags $10 mn order for Chetak, Cheetah from Namibia." ) ''Economic Times'', 10 June 2009.〕 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.〔Kjelgaard 1982, pp. 1772-1773.〕 In 2006, HAL proposed a modernised variant to the Indian Army, designated as ''Cheetal'', the principle change of which being 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 new warning indicates, a cockpit voice recorder, flight monitoring system, artificial horizon, and modernised electronics. In 2006, an initial 10 Cheetals were ordered by the Indian Air Force.〔("Cheetal." ) ''Hindustan Aeronautics Limited'', Retrieved: 30 November 2015.〕〔 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 February 2013, it was announced that the Indian and Nepalese Armies had signed a 300 crore (~US$55 million) contract for the urgent procurement of a further 20 Cheetals.〔("Army, HAL sign Rs 300 cr deal for 20 Cheetal choppers." ) ''Business Standard'', 21 February 2013.〕〔Mathews, Neelam. ("HAL’s Cheetal Meets Indian Army’s Urgent Needs." ) ''AIN Online'', 1 March 2013.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Aérospatiale SA 315B Lama」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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