4 months ago
72
ARTICLE AD BOX
NEW DELHI: In a boost to India’s rotary helping combat capabilities, the Army is acceptable to get transportation of 3 remaining Apache AH-64 onslaught helicopters from US, portion the Navy volition committee its 2nd squadron of MH-60R Seahawk submarine-hunting choppers this week.The induction of these much-delayed American helicopters volition plug existing operational gaps but the existent punch volition travel erstwhile the Army and IAF statesman getting 156 indigenous ‘Prachand’ airy combat helicopters from 2028 onwards.Armed forces privation implicit 1,000 caller helicopters of antithetic types successful adjacent 10-15 years to marque up for large deficiencies and regenerate obsolete Cheetah and Chetak fleets.They see 484 light-utility helicopters successful 3.5-tonne people and 419 Indian multi-role helicopters successful 10-15 tonne class, but determination person been delays successful these projects being executed by HAL.The 3 Apache gunships, dubbed “tanks successful the air” since they are equipped with Stinger air-to-air missiles, Hellfire Longbow air-to-ground missiles, guns and rockets, volition touchdown successful India successful a mates of days, defence officials told TOI.India had ordered six heavy-duty Apaches for the Army successful a Rs 5,691 crore woody with US successful February 2020, nether which the archetypal 3 were delivered successful July aft a immense hold owed to proviso concatenation problems faced by Boeing.
These six Apaches volition adhd to the 22 specified choppers inducted by IAF successful 2019-2020 nether a Rs 13,952 crore woody with US successful Sept 2015. The Army Apaches volition beryllium deployed astatine Jodhpur, wherever a squadron was raised successful March past twelvemonth to cater for the occidental beforehand with Pakistan.Navy volition committee its 2nd squadron of Seahawks, equipped with Hellfire missiles, MK-54 torpedoes and precision-kill rockets arsenic good arsenic precocious sensors, astatine INS Hansa successful Goa connected Dec 17.The US has truthful acold delivered 15 of the 24 Seahawks, which are manufactured by Sikorsky-Lockheed Martin, nether a Rs 15,157 crore declaration successful February 2020. Incidentally, the defence ministry past period inked different Rs 7,955 crore declaration with the US for follow-on enactment and spares for the multi-mission helicopters.While rather expensive, the Seahawks are important due to the fact that the 140-warship Navy is presently grappling with conscionable a fistful of aged Sea King and Kamov-28 anti-submarine warfare helicopters astatine a clip erstwhile the beingness of Chinese submarines is lone going to further summation successful the Indian Ocean Region.
