Armed forces to induct 800 choppers in next few years
NEW DELHI: Supersonic fighter jets may grab all the eyeballs. But it's also raining helicopters for armed forces, who want to induct as many as
800 "rotary-wing birds" over the next few years at a cost of well over Rs 20,000 crore.
Yet another helicopter deal was approved by the Cabinet Committee on Security on Tuesday evening, with the around Rs 950 crore acquisition of five Russian Kamov-31 early-warning helicopters getting the final nod, said sources.
The contract for Ka-31s, which will bolster Navy's long-range capability to detect airborne and surface ship threats, is to be inked in a month or so.
With the E-801M Oko (Eye) airborne electronic warfare radar mounted beneath the fuselage, a Ka-31 can simultaneously track up to 40 airborne and surface threats, with a 360 degree coverage, from 100 to 200 km away depending on the target's size.
Navy already has nine Ka-31 helicopters, inducted in 2003-2004, which operate from its solitary aircraft carrier INS Viraat and three Talwar-class "stealthy" guided-missile frigates as well as shore-based air stations.
Of the 800 new choppers, around half will come from foreign aviation majors. The different projects are:
VVIP: The multi-million dollar deal to acquire 12 VVIP helicopters, with self-protection suites to tackle hostile missiles and other threats, has been finalised with Italian aviation major AgustaWestland for its three-engine AW-101 choppers.
Multi-Role: Navy is hunting for multi-role helicopters (MRHs), armed with cruise missiles and lightweight torpedoes for advanced anti-ship and anti-submarine warfare capabilities.
Though the tender has been floated for only 16 choppers as of now, Navy wants around 60 MRHs eventually. Capable of ferrying 15 soldiers and being refuelled in mid-air, each such 10-tonne helicopter will come for around Rs 110 crore.
Light Utility: India has sought bids from six foreign firms to supply 197 `light utility and observation' helicopters (LUHs), in a Rs 3,000 crore project, to service Siachen, Kargil and other high-altitude areas.
Another 187 such choppers will be manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd by 2016-2017 to fulfil overall requirement of 384 LUHs for Army (259) and IAF (125) to replace the ageing Cheetah and Chetak fleets.
Attack Helicopters: IAF has re-launched its hunt for 22 lethal attack helicopters to add to its feet of Mi-35 gunships. It wants these gunships to be highly-agile, have good armour protection and a 20mm calibre turret gun, as also be capable of firing 70mm rockets with a 1.2-km range and missiles with at least 7-km range.
Medium-Lift: IAF will induct 80 Russian Mi-17 V-5 helicopters during 2010-2014 under a $1.2 billion deal already inked in December 2008. Weaponised for combat operations, the Mi-17s will ferry troops and supplies to even high-altitude areas.
ALH: HAL is already manufacturing `Dhruv' Advanced Light Helicopters, with 168 of them to be inducted into Army and IAF by 2013-2014. Incidentally, the 145 Army ALHs came for Rs 11,237 crore, with CAG criticising the deals since the choppers have "technological gaps".
LCH: HAL is also developing the 5.5-tonne twin-engine Light Combat Helicopter. IAF has projected an initial requirement for 65 LCHs, armed with a 20mm turret twin-barrel gun, cluster bombs, rocket pods as well as missiles.
Armed forces to induct 800 choppers in next few years - India - NEWS - The Times of India