Indian Army Aviation Wing

[Kunal Biswas]

Hires Pic of Rudra and Pic Of LOH..

Rudhra

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LOH

 

[mikhail]

HAL Rudra - ALH variant for Indian Army

Hindustan Aeronautics limited (HAL) in its latest in house publication has informed that first production ALH Mk-IV , which Indian army has named " Rudra " has completed ground tests but didn't provide any information if the first flight has taken place .

ALH Mk-IV is Equipped with a turret gun, rockets, and various air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles, such as the anti-tank Helina missile . ALH Mk-IV successfully completed all weapons test successfully year ago and entered into production recently .

HAL has received combined orders of 76 ALH Mk-IV from Indian army and Indian air force and major chunk of it going to Indian army Aviation fleet , ALH Mk-IV and LCH (Light Combat Helicopter) will be sharing same weapons platforms and avionics .

http://idrw.org/?p=14371

 

[Kunal Biswas]

Re: ALH Mk-IV " Rudra " completes Development test , First Production ALH Mk-IV Ready

 

[Shaitan]

Re: HAL Rudra - ALH variant for Indian Army

 

[Ganesh2691]

Army gets control over attack helicopters

Nothwithstanding stiff opposition from the Air Force, government has decided to give the control of attack helicopters to the Army.

"We have received a letter from the defence ministry and we have been given the attack helicopters by the government," Army Chief Gen Bikram Singh told PTI here.

The Army had been demanding control over attack and medium-lift helicopters saying they are mainly used for its operations and that is why they should be under it. The IAF has been strongly opposing the demand.

Army had been maintaining that the induction of tactical and attack choppers into the force was an "inescapable operational necessity" as infrastructure along the borders with China is "far from satisfactory" and such assets would be required to cut down on the time for movement.
The tussle between the two Services over the issue had come out in open when IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal N A K Browne said the country cannot afford to have these "little air forces" doing their own things.

Defence Minister A K Antony had played down the tussle, saying it was a "family problem" and the Government was in the final stages of resolving the matter.

As per its plans, the Army wants to raise attack chopper squadrons as part of its strike corps and then raise them at every corps level.

Army gets control over attack helicopters | Business Standard

 

[Ray]

Re: Army gets control over attack helicopters

From the point of view of Land Warfare, it is a correct action.

If there is control, there is efficiency.

In Kargil, the IAF and IA operated on their own with very little complementary activities!

 

[p2prada]

Re: Army gets control over attack helicopters

A good move. Hope the same decision is made for the medium and maybe even heavy lift helicopters.

Integration is all fine, but the decision making seems to be slower.

In Kargil, the IAF and IA operated on their own with very little complementary activities!

I suppose there was no integration of the forces during the time.

 

[mayfair]

Re: Army gets control over attack helicopters

Medium lift helicopters? Does it mean the new Mi-17Vs will be operated by the army?

 

[Kunal Biswas]

Re: Army gets control over attack helicopters

IA interested in CH-47..

Medium lift helicopters? Does it mean the new Mi-17Vs will be operated by the army?

 

[mayfair]

Re: Army gets control over attack helicopters

IA interested in CH-47..

But isn't Chinook (or Mi-26T2) a heavy lift copter? Army seems to have singled out medium-lift choppers to be transferred to their control. That would imply Mi-17Vs no?

Of course they may want to excercise control over the heavy lift operations undertaken by helicopters as well.

 

[Kunal Biswas]

Re: Army gets control over attack helicopters

Yes indeed CH-47 is heavy class as per western and in eastern MI-26, though IA in US do get training on CH-47 and recon birds..

Though do IA count CH-47 as medium helo ? If not then its MI-17s..

But isn't Chinook (or Mi-26T2) a heavy lift copter? Army seems to have singled out medium-lift choppers to be transferred to their control. That would imply Mi-17Vs no?

Of course they may want to excercise control over the heavy lift operations undertaken by helicopters as well.

 

[tharikiran]

Re: Army gets control over attack helicopters

Good. 50 years have passed by and there is still no seamless integration between the army and the air force.That's more than enough time to practise/achieve the capability.Let the army have it's choppers and let it defend the troops and it's armour formations.Out of topic question:- how safe is the chinook from AK-47 fire ?

 

[Kunal Biswas]

Re: Army gets control over attack helicopters

Its fuel tank and other electronic & Probably cockpit are safe from small arm fire but not the passenger compartment..

 

[H.A.]

Re: Army gets control over attack helicopters

What does Transfer of control actually mean?....

1) Does it mean that the Heli pilots will now be transferred from the Air force to Army
2) Or just the heli's will be transferred with the Army assigning / designating its own soldiers to their Helicopters

 

[Bhadra]

Re: Army gets control over attack helicopters

Thank God that some sense prevails..... Ground operations are three dimensional wherever possible and invariable two dimensional... Helicopter operations in conjunction with ground forces are ground operations rather than air operations per say. IAF do not need helicopters to win air operations but IA needs those to win ground operations.

 

[mikhail]

Re: Army gets control over attack helicopters

does it mean that the army can get its own set of apaches or any other helicopters or is it that the IAF will have to transfer their MI-35s and the newly ordered Apaches to the IA?if so then what happens to the ARMED variant of Dhruv(Rudra) and the LCH firm order given by the IAF(which i think is around 65)?will it join the IAF or will itbe cancelled as the IA has already ordered around 73 ALH(over half of them are Rudras) and a firm order of around 114 LCH already?

 

[p2prada]

Re: Army gets control over attack helicopters

What does Transfer of control actually mean?....

1) Does it mean that the Heli pilots will now be transferred from the Air force to Army
2) Or just the heli's will be transferred with the Army assigning / designating its own soldiers to their Helicopters

It means the Army will buy helicopters of their own and pilots with ranks of Captains, Colonels etc will fly them instead of IAF Squadron leaders, Wing Commanders etc.

Pilots will not be transferred. IA will recruit and train their own pilots. Most probably IAF will train them over a decade or more before IA's pilots and technicians are experienced enough to take over the reins.

 

[Bhadra]

Re: Army gets control over attack helicopters

Control means control in utilisation rather than who will fly those machines. It means who will assign them tasks and on whoes orders those will undertake missions. It really does not matter who flies those machines.

 

[H.A.]

Re: Army gets control over attack helicopters

Control means control in utilisation rather than who will fly those machines. It means who will assign them tasks and on whoes orders those will undertake missions. It really does not matter who flies those machines.

I don't think that the AIr Force personnel will take orders from the Army....

 

[Bhadra]

Re: Army gets control over attack helicopters

I don't think that the AIr Force personnel will take orders from the Army....

Why do you think so.... ??

The present two sqns of attack helicopters (MI-25 etc) flown by IAF are under operational control of the IA !