Buddy, all these things you pointed out here, are done with Dhruv, or Mi 17 class helicopters, not with heavy lift helicopters like Mi 26. That's exactly why I meant, that we have numbers of Mi 17s now as the base (another 139 on order), so be it the Chinook, or the Mi 26, none of them will be used for these roles and that's why really high numbers are not needed.
Buddy the IA right now is operating around 40-50 Dhruv and IA is using IAF's Mi17. We have a army of 1.1 million but our army operate around 200 helos and they are not transport chopper except 40-50 odd dhruv.
Situation is definitely changing with more orders of Dhruv but Dhruv is like for special operation. i am talking about in the real war like situation when we will be required to mobilize quickly and in large numbers so as to safe some critical forward base we are in no way prepared to protect our own land.
Just imagine next time if Chinese army decides to infiltrate but this time they decides not to leave the area then how are expecting our forces to respond ? Chinese have roads and railways on their side while it takes around 48-72 hours to reach most of our forward bases on foot. Its common everywhere. Not just in NE but also in J&K, Uttranchal and Himachal.
You said all that i have mentioned is being taken care of by Dhruv and Mi17. Not even 15 helicopters are participating in anti-naxal operation spreading around 180 districts in ten states of India.
BSF operates only around 9 helos while they operate in desert, mountains, snow-covered areas and heavy rain-forest and they are not just involved in guarding almost the entire indian border but also anti-naxal operations and anti-terrorist operations in JnK. With a strength of 240,000 personnel in 186 battalions, BSF operates only 9 choppers.
As far as role of Mi26 is concerned its upto our forces. Mi26 can carry around 90 troops with a speed of 255kmph. IA will soon be purchasing 145 M777 and 300 light tanks which is mainly meant for new battalions being set up for NE. If not for transporting troops we sure need 50-100 of these choppers so as to transport these things in deadly terrains of NE because i highly doubt we will be air dropping them in through C17s.
Eurofighter? According recent reports the Mi 17s belongs to the most reliable helicopters in IAF fleet and it will be sold in high numbers, altough it is that old.
You know it. Our latest Dhruv mk3 is even more advanced than Russian Mi17(I am not sure about latest Mi17). IAF and IA are talking about network centric warfare but they still wanna work with old USSR weapons which even Russian army has declared unfit for war. If you will look at other choppers in Mi17 category, then you will find that they are better than Mi17. IAF hass not operated any chopper other than Mi17 thats why they like it. Let the first batch of AW101 arrive and you will see how IAF will realise what they are missing. AW101 is one the best chopper in this category.
Again, it depends on what roles they are aimed on. The LCH will be the attack helicopter next to the Dhruv WSI and that in high numbers, the Apache/Mi 28 is just a replacement on the higher end, probably with special roles and capabilities.
Agreed and LCH will still be the main attack helo in IA fleet but my question still remains the same. Ok, if it was upto you, where will you station 22 Apaches ?
Also i don't really care now much about attack helos because after all these deals (LCH, Dhruv WSI, Apache), India will be operating maximum number of attack helos in Asia. My real concern is transport choppers. We are fighting on many fronts within our own country. There are areas in Chattisgarh were our forces has never kept foot.
The situation is really bad but its our point of view. Our forces are fighting right now, they were fighting before also and they will fight in future also but we have a choice by using these basic things we can ensure quick control over the problem with limited loss of life but it appears nobody cares about life of a armed personnel. The induction of LUH is really a great move as it will help in increasing the surveillance.