Angad Singh
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We are fairly well off as far as the helicopter fleet of the IAF is concerned. Future inductions are the Chinook and the Apache, both of which are being imported from the USA and will not be made in India. The quantity envisaged for these platforms is 15 Chinooks and 22 Apache’s. The former is a heavy-lift helicopter and the latter is for employment in the attack role. In addition, we are looking into getting an additional 48 MI-17-B5s from Russia, which is already in use by the IAF. This will form a large chunk of our helicopter fleet.
With respect to the Apaches, which are attack helicopters, I do not believe that there will be any coordination issue with the Army. All the Apache’s will be under the Army control, in the same manner as the MI 35 is today. The men in Blue fly with Army formation signs on their shoulder and they operate under the functional control of the Army. This is an ongoing arrangement and has been in force for long. I do not see any problem with such an arrangement which also highlights the joint manship in the forces. There is no dichotomy in having Apaches in the Army and in the IAF. I think they can go hand in hand.
As far as the Make in India initiative goes in the helicopter fleet, we have a wide range of helicopter variants all of which the IAF is procuring in small quantities or more. We have the Cheetal which is an upgraded Cheetah aircraft. We also have the Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) for which the RFP response is being evaluated, and we hope to have the contract signed within the next six to eight months. The Light Utility Helicopter is also being developed, which I believe will be a true replacement along with the Kamov for the Chetak helicopter, including its training role, which we do. The IAF is also fully supporting the Indian Multi-Role Helicopter. This is an aircraft which is being developed by HAL. We believe this aircraft will replace the MI-17, the MI-17-1V and the MI-17-V5 in future as and when these aircraft complete their total technical life.
https://saluteindia.org/military-modernisation-indian-air-force/ written by Air Marshal R. Nambiar
With respect to the Apaches, which are attack helicopters, I do not believe that there will be any coordination issue with the Army. All the Apache’s will be under the Army control, in the same manner as the MI 35 is today. The men in Blue fly with Army formation signs on their shoulder and they operate under the functional control of the Army. This is an ongoing arrangement and has been in force for long. I do not see any problem with such an arrangement which also highlights the joint manship in the forces. There is no dichotomy in having Apaches in the Army and in the IAF. I think they can go hand in hand.
As far as the Make in India initiative goes in the helicopter fleet, we have a wide range of helicopter variants all of which the IAF is procuring in small quantities or more. We have the Cheetal which is an upgraded Cheetah aircraft. We also have the Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) for which the RFP response is being evaluated, and we hope to have the contract signed within the next six to eight months. The Light Utility Helicopter is also being developed, which I believe will be a true replacement along with the Kamov for the Chetak helicopter, including its training role, which we do. The IAF is also fully supporting the Indian Multi-Role Helicopter. This is an aircraft which is being developed by HAL. We believe this aircraft will replace the MI-17, the MI-17-1V and the MI-17-V5 in future as and when these aircraft complete their total technical life.
https://saluteindia.org/military-modernisation-indian-air-force/ written by Air Marshal R. Nambiar
