present in the Dhruv Mk III, a number of alterations both to the design and production had been made to improve the IDS. A programme of retrofitting the Mk I and Mk II was completed by June 2011. The ALH Mk-III with new Shakti-1H engines has very good high altitude performance operating at altitudes over 6 km. It comes with seating for 14 fully equipped troops. DGCA has praised its crashworthy design as a few accidents have not caused any fatalities. Operational history Indian service Deliveries of the Dhruv commenced in January 2002, nine years after the prototype's first flight, and nearly eighteen years after the program was initiated. The Indian Coast Guard was the first service to operate the Dhruv; this was followed by the Indian Army, Indian Navy, Indian Air Force and the Border Security Force. 75 Dhruvs were delivered to the Indian armed forces by 2007, and as of 2008 it was planned to produce 40 helicopters annually. The Indian Air Force's Sarang aerobatic display team performs using 4 Dhruv helicopters. In 2007, a further order for 166 helicopters was placed by the Indian Army. India may order up to 12 Dhruvs outfitted with an onboard emergency medical suite, to be used by the Armed Forces Medical Services for MEDEVAC purposes. The Dhruv is capable of flying at high altitudes, as it was an Army requirement for the helicopter to be able operate in the Siachen Glacier and Kashmir regions. In September 2007, the Dhruv Mk.3 was cleared for high-altitude flying in the Siachen Sector after six months of trials. In October 2007, a Dhruv Mk.3 flew to an altitude of ASL in Siachen. An Indian Army report in 2009 criticised the Dhruv's performance, stating: "The ALH was not able to fly above 5,000m, though the army's requirements stipulated an ability to fly up to 6,500m"; this has been blamed on the TM333 engine. As a consequence the Army had to continue relying on the older Cheetah/Cheetal helicopters to meet the shortfall. The more powerful Shakti-1H engine has since been introduced on the Dhruv Mk.3; on one test it carried 600 kg load to Sonam Post against the Army's requirement of 200 kg. The Indian Army received the first batch of Dhruv Mk.3s during Aero India 2011. In October 2008, Defence Minister A. K. Antony announced that the Indian Navy will deploy the Dhruv in the utility