Plan To Acquire 300 Helicopters

The government has chalked out a proposal to acquire close to 300 helicopters to be used for various purposes by the Army Aviation Corps.

Under the expansion plans that have been chalked out, the Army wants to increase the number of aircraft from the present 150 to a whopping 440 over the next 10 years.

The government is already holding talks with companies including the French helicopter company, Eurocopter for these helicopters which is estimated to cost them around $500 million.

The final cost would be dependent on the use the helicopters would be put to. Estimates given by Eurocopter for the base model would be around $1.5 million per helicopter.

 

Sources have indicated that under the plans the government plans to change scope of operations of these helicopters. So far they use only observation helicopters for casualty evacuation, etc.

The government now wants to change the role of the Corps and plans to utilise them for dedicated attack and assault aircraft which can cover troops in battle. They are looking to acquire both fixed wing and rotary wing aircraft. They have some experience in flying the Krishak, a fixed wing aircraft, in the past.

The Eurocopter built AS 350 B3 light weight helicopter is also being considered for the new role of the Army Aviation Corps. There are several points in its favour: as opposed to the Chetak and Cheetah which it will replace and which have a payload of just 66 kg, the AS 350 B3 has a pay load of 150 kg. It can fly at altitudes up to 17,000 feet and is proposed to be used by the army in Siachen.

However, the army is yet to take a decision on this because of the competition from the MD 544 Dutch helicopter.

Added to the competition from the Dutch, as the Hindustan Aeronauticals Limited (HAL) has also offered to design a light weight single engine aircraft, the army is weighing the options whether it is really necessary to import the aircraft or whether an indigenously designed aircraft will do just as well.

The government is already holding talks with companies including the French helicopter company, Eurocopter, for these helicopters which are estimated to cost around $500 million