The Indian armed forces operates one of the largest helicopter fleets in South Asia and the Indian military presently operate 38 Helicopter Units HUs) comprising of Russian built Mi-17, Mi-17 1V, Mi-17 V5 helicopters, which are the backbone of medium lift combat capability of IAE in addition to HAL licence-built Cheetah and Chetak helicopters and the Dhruv ALH MK-I, ALH MK-II, ALH MK-IV), along with American-made AH-64E Apaches and Boeing CH-47F Chinooks as the other workhorses. The IAF is presently short of just one HU to meet its sanctioned strength of 39. Helicopters are generally more maintenance intensive and have a Total Technical Life TTL), that ranges between 5,000 hours to 12,000 hours depending on their age and vintage.
The IAF due to budgetary constraints, ends up operating most of its platforms far beyond the lifespan envisaged by the Original Equipment Manufacturer OEM). Case in point is the obsolescent Cheetah and Chetak helicopters, that continue to fly, when they should have been retired by now. The IAF finally ended up retiring its MI-8 Pratap’ helicopters in December 2017, after inducting 107 MI-8s between 1971 1988. The MI-8 was inducted in ten operational helicopter units and it operated in several major IAF operations including Operation Meghdoot in the Siachen Glacier and Operation Pawan in Sri Lanka.
Current strength in numbers
Over the next few years, the IAF will induct three new helicopter types: 65 units of HAL Light Combat Helicopter LCH), 65 units of Kamov Ka-226T Sergei’ and 61 units of HAL Light Utility Helicopter LUH), for a total of 191 helicopters. Recently, India became the 14th nation to induct the Apache and the 19th nation to select the Chinook for its air force, for which orders were placed way back in September 2015.
Denne historien er fra October 2022-utgaven av Geopolitics.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra October 2022-utgaven av Geopolitics.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Lessons From Gaza And Lebanon
The ongoing war, loosely called the Gaza War, is actually being fought in two different loosely connected segments; against the Hamas with a spill off in the West Bank and East Jerusalem areas against Palestinian factions and against the Hezbollah in Lebanon with a spill off in Syria. Treating Israel-Hamas War and the Lebanon War as separate entities, RAJ MEHTA explains the lessons from these wars
POSITIVE STEPS TOWARDS POTENTIAL REGIONAL COOPERATION
It has been a whirlwind of diplomatic activity for India recently. India participated in both the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation SCO) summit that took place in Islamabad on October 15-16, and the 16th BRICS Summit was held in Kazan, Russia, from October 2224, 2024. These back-to-back summits within a short span of time underscore India's active role in shaping regional and global diplomacy, balancing national interests with multilateral cooperation
THE EAGLE'S EYE TEJAS MK-II RADAR PIERCES VEIL OF THE SKY
The Tejas Mk-II, featuring DRDO's GaN-based Uttam AESA radar, marks a major leap in India's defence, enhancing range, precision, and multi-target tracking capabilities, highlights GIRISH LINGANNA
PRIME MOVER
The indigenously developed Wheeled Armoured Platform (WhAP) has received a boost with its first export order from the Kingdom of Morocco
TRANSFORMATIONAL INDUCTION
The GA-ASI MQ-9B will dramatically enhance the ISR and precision strike capabilities of the Indian armed forces
TACAN PRINCIPLES OF OPERATION
Navigation systems have evolved significantly since the Viking era, with Tactical Air Navigation TACAN) now widely used for air and sea travel. Post-World War Il, reliable systems became essential for safety and efficiency, as highlighted by DR. SUJAN KUMAR SARASWATI, in this article on TACAN’s operational principles.
AIRBORNE TRACKER
Indigenous efforts towards AEW&C and AWACS platforms need to be stepped up even as international programmes extend the current state-of-the-art for such aircraft, highlights
AFFORDABLE LETHALITY THE INDIAN DILEMMA
India's defence dilemma is now being complicated by the lessons learnt in the Ukraine and Gaza wars because these conflicts are reshaping the way wars are fought in the modern world.
FROM IMPORTS TO SELF-RELIANCE IN ARMS
Self-reliance in Defence Production needs new ideas, new definitions _es and an appropriate methodology, argues AMIT COWSHISH
"THE INDIAN AIR FORCE IS WORKING HARD TO REMAIN A CREDIBLE AIR FORCE"
Commissioned into the fighter stream of the Indian Air Force on December 21, 1984, Air Chief Marshal AMAR PREET SINGH PVSM AVSM took over as the 28th Air Chief of India on September 30, 2024.