Army gets closer to buying Apache attack choppers

[Zarvan]

In this file photo, Israeli Apache helicopters fly at the Hatzerim air base. India will be the 14th country to operate the attack helicopters and Boeing has delivered more than 2,200 Apaches to international customers.

The army is inching closer towards its goal of deploying attack helicopters for the first time, with India issuing a Letter of Request (LoR) to the US government for buying Boeing-made Apache choppers, a person closely monitoring the project said.

The LoR is a significant step as it formally kicks off the foreign military sales programme, Washington’s government-to-government method for selling US-built platforms. “The LoR was issued recently and now the US has to respond with a Letter of Acceptance (LoA) to take the Apache deal forward,” said the person quoted above. The LoA could come in six months after which the two sides will begin negotiations to hammer out a deal.

India’s defence acquisition council green lighted the proposal to buy six Apache AH-64E attack helicopters from the US last August. The helicopters and associated equipment are expected to cost around Rs 4,168 crore.

Armed with fire-and-forget Hellfire missiles, an Apache can track up to 128 targets a minute and prioritise threats. The missiles equip the gunships with heavy anti-armour capabilities.




India placed orders worth $3.1 billion for 22 Apache helicopters and 15 Chinook heavy-lift choppers in 2015 for its air force. These machines will start arriving in the middle of 2019, changing the complexion of the Indian Air Force’s helicopter fleet that consists mainly of Russian platforms. The six Apaches cleared by the council are being bought as a follow-on option to the 2015 contract.

India will be the 14th country to operate the attack helicopters and Boeing has delivered more than 2,200 Apaches to international customers. Attack helicopters have been on the army’s wish list for several years, but the IAF has objected to the plan. The army has a requirement for more attack helicopters as it had moved a case to buy 39 Apaches three years ago.

Since 2008, India has bought or ordered military equipment worth $15 billion from the US, including C-130J special operations planes, C-17 transport aircraft, P-8I submarine hunter planes, Harpoon missiles, helicopters and M777 howitzers.

India spent more than $100 billion on buying new weapons and systems during 2008-17, with imports accounting for around 60-65% of the country’s military requirements. At $15 billion, military purchases from the US have consumed more than a fourth of the total capital expenditure for the last decade.

https://www.hindustantimes.com/indi...ck-choppers/story-C2dvfEiXbZV2HEaBvxCXgO.html

 

[Maarkhoor]

Very good move by I.A, get more American stuff and became slave / dependent and fight America's war with China and get destroyed in process

 

[AZADPAKISTAN2009]

Apache + Indian = "Apache Indian" makes sense, a white helicopter on other hand would not have made any sense

Trump is a well respected White fresh dude , misunderstood

 

[Jugger]

Very good move by I.A, get more American stuff and became slave / dependent and fight America's war with China and get destroyed in process

Yes we should learn from Pakistan’s past mistakes.

India’s interest is first and foremost.
We are friends with all nations including USA until it is beneficial for our country.

 

[AZADPAKISTAN2009]

Get in line and apply the H1B first Like good friends

 

[Mani2020]

Very good move by I.A, get more American stuff and became slave / dependent and fight America's war with China and get destroyed in process

Why is it so that when we buy something from USA we keep bragging about it..how advanced there tech is and how it can make difference ..and when India buy's something from them... we start delivering lectures related to how it will come back to bite them etc etc
The reality is we got ditched by US not only because US wanted to ditch us but because of our blunders and our spineless politicians and dictators ... and because of the fact that we were solely relying on US and even after them betraying us on multiple crucial occasions still we kept banking on them for all of our defence needs...

On the other hand not only India is diplomatically more stronger than us but also they have diversified there portfolio very well ...every supplier is opening up to them because they have money to buy stuff. ..whereas we still are the way we were in past ... a cash strapped country ..whose arm chair generals have a lot in their wish list but no money to buy stuff ...

Believe me if we would have money we would have definitely gone for apaches and chinooks and people like you would have been bragging about their capabilities because as much as we hate US ..these Are one hell of platforms ...

Besides as of today US needs India more than ever before because they need someone to tackle China. ..

Instead of making hypothesis I believe we should be worried about ourselves ... as much as we hate India the reality is they are getting world best platforms on the other hand we are still obsessed with 80's technology...

Garpes are sour ... !!!

 

[LegionnairE]

Why is it so that when we buy something from USA we keep bragging about it..how advanced there tech is and how it can make difference ..and when India buy's something from them... we start delivering lectures related to how it will come back to bite them etc etc
The reality is we got ditched by US not only because US wanted to ditch us but because of our blunders and our spineless politicians and dictators ... and because of the fact that we were solely relying on US and even after them betraying us on multiple crucial occasions still we kept banking on them for all of our defence needs...

On the other hand not only India is diplomatically more stronger than us but also they have diversified there portfolio very well ...every supplier is opening up to them because they have money to buy stuff. ..whereas we still are the way we were in past ... a cash strapped country ..whose arm chair generals have a lot in their wish list but no money to buy stuff ...

Believe me if we would have money we would have definitely gone for apaches and chinooks and people like you would have been bragging about their capabilities because as much as we hate US ..these Are one hell of platforms ...

Besides as of today US needs India more than ever before because they need someone to tackle China. ..

Instead of making hypothesis I believe we should be worried about ourselves ... as much as we hate India the reality is they are getting world best platforms on the other hand we are still obsessed with 80's technology...

Garpes are sour ... !!!

Pakistan buys T129s from good guy Turkey mate

US would sell weapons to the devil, they don't care that much.

Pakistan delivered rather nicely in the UN even after the US threatened to stop the foreign aid. So yeah it's not as bad as you're portraying. I don't think so

 

[Mani2020]

Pakistan buys T129s from good guy Turkey mate

US would sell weapons to the devil, they don't care that much.

Pakistan delivered rather nicely in the UN even after the US threatened to stop the foreign aid. So yeah it's not as bad as you're portraying. I don't think so

Mate t129s are still a far fetched thing ... no one makes goodies as sophisticated as Yankees. t129 although a good prospect but still lack the maturity n lethality of a war proven beast like apaches ...

Besides if you read my post I was referring to our stance throughout our history and not just one incident which you quoted ...
Starting from f104 fiasco till to date ... we deliberately choose to be betrayed ...

The move you are talking about is a last resort kind of thing because we have been a failure in our diplomacy ... and we now feel we don't have anything left in this relationship that's why we took this stance ...
Believe you me it's only a matter of time ...even if today US will offer us used f16s or any stuff we will still be sitting at their door step with extended hands to grab that offer and forget every bad thing they have done to us ...because we can't simply learn from our mistakes ..

And not to forget we are still buying zulus from US...

We had a chance to diversify our portfolio back in the days when it mattered but every time we choose to sit on lap of uncle sam ... we had everyone back then ...

On the other hand India played well ..once they had Soviet union n UK only but then they went to France grabbed the opportunity of mirages ...n slowly to Israel n many more. ..now they have every supplier at their door step ... because unlike us they are not keeping all their eggs in one basket ...

They are getting best from every corner around the world while we are mostly left with China and Turkey. .. and even for that we don't have funds ..

Once only numerical superior iaf is now way more technological superior as well ... keeping other variables such as training etc aside ...

 

[ni8mare]

Very good move by I.A, get more American stuff and became slave / dependent and fight America's war with China and get destroyed in process

HAL gets order for 15 Light Combat Helicopters
SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
NEW DELHI:, DECEMBER 22, 2017 19:02 IST
UPDATED: DECEMBER 22, 2017 19:02 IST

• 
  This development comes days after the IAF issue the RFP to HAL for manufacturing 83 Tejas Light Combat Aircraft
  Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) on Friday received a Request for Proposal (RFP) for 15 limited series Light Combat Helicopters (LCH) from the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Indian Army.
  
  This development comes days after the IAF issue the RFP to HAL for manufacturing 83 Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) in Mk-1A configuration.
  
  LCH is a 5.5 tonne class multirole attack helicopter developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and is intended to play a major role in providing close air support to ground forces. It is the only attack helicopter in the world which can operate at heights of 12,000 feet. Presently, four technology demonstrators are under flight testing.
  
  The limited series production is a precursor for full fledged serial production. Of the 15 helicopters, five are for the Army and 10 for the IAF.
  
  On August 26 this year then Defence Minister Arun Jaitley launched the production of LCH at Bengaluru and the Initial Operational Configuration (IOC) documents of the basic version were handed over to HAL.
  
  The IAF has out forward a requirement for 65 LCH and the Army for 114 of these attack helicopters.

HAL gets order of 41 ALH helicopters; 40 for Army, one for Navy

Posted By: Vikas Published: Monday, September 4, 2017, 12:49 [IST] Subscribe to Oneindia News The Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd has been given an order to supply 41 Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) to the defence forces. Forty of these will be for the Indian Army while one ALH will be for the Navy. The Indian Army significantly wants to strengthen its Air wing which would vastly improve its capabilities to monitor both Eastern and Western borders of the country. An HAL chopper (Image for representation only) - PTI image The Defence Ministry last month cleared the proposal to procure six Apache attack helicopters for the Army. Apache choppers, armed with Hellfire missiles, would enable the Army not only to keep an eye on the LoC but also attack terrorists trying to infiltrate the border. The Army has been demanding such attack helicopters for a long time. Sports News BCCI turns down ICC request for rescheduling IPL match Bhuvi, Dhawan make significant movement in ICC rankings Taylor and Santner spoil Stokes comeback The uses of Apache and ALH are totally different. Apache is designed to be an attack helicopter which can wreak havoc on terrorists on the ground with its 30 mm M230 chain gun and Hellfire and Stinger missiles. ALH will most likely be used for transport, utility, reconnaissance and medical evacuation purposes. The HAL Dhruv or ALH is a utility helicopter developed and manufactured by HAL. The development of the Dhruv was first announced in November 1984. The Dhruv entered service in 2002. It is designed to meet the requirement of both military and civil operators, with military variants of the helicopter being developed for the Indian Armed Forces, while a variant for civilian/commercial use has also been developed. HAL Dhruv has another variant called Rudra, also known as ALH-WSI. It is an armed version of HAL Dhruv. Rudra is equipped with Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) and Thermal Imaging Sights Interface, a 20 mm turret gun, 70 mm rocket pods, anti-tank guided missiles and air-to-air missiles. [Why India preferred US made Apache over Russian Mi-28N helicopter?] Sports News I enjoy living this way! - Aubameyang won't change lavish lifestyle Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni rested for Nidahas Trophy WWE Elimination Chamber 2018: Match Card, preview & predictions But, even Rudra is no match for Apache, which is the most advanced multi-role heavy attack helicopter in the world. OneIndia News

Read more at: https://www.oneindia.com/india/hal-...copters-40-for-army-one-for-navy-2535977.html

 

[LegionnairE]

Mate t129s are still a far fetched thing ... no one makes goodies as sophisticated as Yankees. t129 although a good prospect but still lack the maturity n lethality of a war proven beast like apaches ...

Besides if you read my post I was referring to our stance throughout our history and not just one incident which you quoted ...
Starting from f104 fiasco till to date ... we deliberately choose to be betrayed ...

The move you are talking about is a last resort kind of thing because we have been a failure in our diplomacy ... and we now feel we don't have anything left in this relationship that's why we took this stance ...
Believe you me it's only a matter of time ...even if today US will offer us used f16s or any stuff we will still be sitting at their door step with extended hands to grab that offer and forget every bad thing they have done to us ...because we can't simply learn from our mistakes ..

And not to forget we are still buying zulus from US...

We had a chance to diversify our portfolio back in the days when it mattered but every time we choose to sit on lap of uncle sam ... we had everyone back then ...

On the other hand India played well ..once they had Soviet union n UK only but then they went to France grabbed the opportunity of mirages ...n slowly to Israel n many more. ..now they have every supplier at their door step ... because unlike us they are not keeping all their eggs in one basket ...

They are getting best from every corner around the world while we are mostly left with China and Turkey. .. and even for that we don't have funds ..

Once only numerical superior iaf is now way more technological superior as well ... keeping other variables such as training etc aside ...

I think your big problem is economic, you simply can't compete with the indian economy and indian military budget. So if someone offers some cheap hardware you can't turn it down. Necessity is driving your policies, not pride.

I disagree about T129, I think it's more suitable for the modern combat environmant than heavy attack helicopters such as AH64 and Mi28. We have Cirit type laser guided rockets to deal with light armored vehicles and still it can carry a good amount of ATGMs.

It's not like hundreds of tanks march towards your capital every day.

 

[Mani2020]

I think your big problem is economic, you simply can't compete with the indian economy and indian military budget. So if someone offers some cheap hardware you can't turn it down. Necessity is driving your policies, not pride.

I disagree about T129, I think it's more suitable for the modern combat environmant than heavy attack helicopters such as AH64 and Mi28. We have Cirit type laser guided rockets to deal with light armored vehicles and still it can carry a good amount of ATGMs.

It's not like hundreds of tanks march towards your capital every day.

That is why I used the word "spineless" for our politicians and rulers ... they never let the economy boom because a prosperous pakistan was neither in their interest nor in their master's... i am not saying that we had to match peny by peny with Indian defence budget...but certainly this much of a difference is not acceptable . .. do you know what was the military budget difference between pakistan n India in early to mid 90s? You would be astonished to learn if you Google the numbers...

Our policies are always influenced by US and likes ... which never wanted us to prosper ...lost billions i war on terror .. not to forget the effects of fdi and other relevant factors ...

Not downgrading t129 by any means..but still it isn't a mature platform ... besides no surety of us getting it ..all i am hearing are rumours or possibilities