India approves Apache acquisition for Army

New Delhi's Defence Acquisition Council has approved the acquisition of six AH-64E Apache attack helicopters for the army at a cost of $651 million.
The deal still needs final approval from the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), and a formal contract could take up to a year.
In September 2015, Boeing received orders for 22 AH-64E Apache’s and 15 CH-47F Chinooks. The contract also contained options for 11 Apaches and 7 Chinooks.
Boeing will commence air force Apache deliveries in 2019. Once the air force receives all 22 of its Apaches, then the army's six will be delivered.
Boeing will supply the Apache platform as a direct commercial sale (DCS). The engines, sensors and armament will be supplied by the US Govt as a foreign military sale (FMS).
flightglobal

HAL LCH TD3 Indian Stealth Attack Helicopter makes first flight

The Light Combat Helicopter's third trial aircraft, LCH TD-3, made its first flight on Wednesday.
The twin-seater Technology Demonstrator-3 took off at 3.20 p.m. from the helipad of the Helicopter Division of HAL and flew for 20 minutes. A Dhruv helicopter, also created by HAL, escorted it.
HAL is expected to produce 179 LCHs for the Air Force and the Army.
TD-1 was first flown on March 29, 2010 followed by TD-2 on June 28, 2011.
TD-3 will be continuously test flown for further evaluations, especially with weapons. It will be assessed in very cold and very hot weathers, and in high altitudes and mountainous areas. Later it would be used to fire with a turret gun and rocket.
The four TDs must make nearly 900 flights before the copter gets its IOC, or preliminary flight worthiness clearance. TD-1 and 2 have together flown for 388 flights or 285 hours. TD-3 would need to make 100 flights over the next five months.
thehindu

Agni-IV successfully test fired, ready for induction into Indian Army

India today successfully test fired its 4000-km range nuclear capable ballistic missile 'Agni-IV', making it ready for induction into the Army.
"The test firing was a total success. The missile travelled its full range.
The third consecutive trial of the missile was conducted at Wheeler Island off Odisha coast at 10.52 am. The serial production of the missile would begin now.
The test fire is the last one in the series of development launches.
Propelled by composite solid fuel rocket motor technology, Agni-IV was launched from its road mobile launcher, which is also indigenously developed.
The long range radars and electro-optical tracking systems which were located all along the coast tracked and monitored all the parameters throughout the flight.
Two ships located near the target point tracked the vehicle and witnessed the final event.
Agni-I, II, III and Prithvi are already in the arsenal of the armed forces, giving a reach of over 3000 km and the country an effective deterrence capability.
ndtv

India Could Scrap Light Utility Helicopters (LUH) Deal

There are indications that the 197 light-utility helicopters (LUH) procurement deal may be scrapped, leaving the army without an option to replace its ageing fleet of Cheetah and Chetak choppers. Cancellation of the deal seems imminent.
Cheetah and Chetak choppers are the lifeline to troops deployed in high-altitude posts in North Kashmir, Siachen, Ladakh and the Northeast. But the Cheetahs and Chetaks have aged, waiting to replaced.
Everyone thought that the LUH would be the replacement. But the buzz is the defence ministry might scrap the deal. More so, after the CBI registered a case against a brigadier and another officer on Saturday for allegedly attempting to favour one of the companies wanting to clinch the deal. Cheetah and Chetak choppers are “death traps”. As many as 12 pilots have died in Cheetah crashes in the last five years.
If army aviation sources are to be believed, these vintage helicopters, which were purchased from France and inducted into the Indian army in 1971, have lived beyond their threshold by more than 12 to 15 years.
According to defence ministry sources, the procurement process is heading for trouble once again after the acquisition of 197 helicopters was cancelled in December 2007 after having been finalised. In 2008, the government issued fresh tenders in this regard.
If the government cancels the deal once again, it is going to be a major setback for the preparedness of the army, which is making all efforts to match China’s capabilities on the eastern front.
The army has been raising the issue of replacing obsolete machines since 2003. In 2012, army headquarters wrote a letter to defence minister AK Antony’s office in which it highlighted that obsolescence-related issues such as component failures, low reliability, accidents and increased structural failures were dogging the fleet. The army claimed that Cheetah and Chetak helicopters had virtually become death traps.
In March 2007, defence minister told Parliament that the ageing Cheetah fleet would be replaced. There are about 250 Cheetahs and Chetak helicopters in service in the army aviation corps. The airframe life of the light-utility helicopter is about 4,500 hours, but most Cheetahs with the army have logged over 6,000 flying hours. The engine life of the chopper is 1,750 hours and most have gone past that too.
dnaindia

India clears proposal for buying 15 UAVs from Israel

Boosting surveillance capabilities of the army along the borders with China and Pakistan, the government has cleared the procurement of around 15 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from Israel.
A proposal to procure these Heron UAVs was approved by the Cabinet committee on security at its recent meeting.
The procuring of the UAVs will bolster the Israeli-origin Heron and Searcher fleet.
The force has a fleet of more than 40 such vehicles, which are expected to undergo upgrades in the near future.
The IAF flies the Israeli-made Searcher II and Heron UAVs for reconnaissance and surveillance purposes and about 100 Searchers are in operation on Indian borders in western, northern and eastern regions.
The Army also operates a sizable number of UAVs and has deployed them in borders along the western and eastern fronts.
The Army was the first to induct UAVs in the 90s starting with Searcher Mark I and Searcher Mark II which could operate at an altitude of 15,000 feet and finally the Heron, which can operate at 30,000 feet.
The Navy has also three operational squadrons of the Israeli UAVs deployed along both the eastern and the western seaboards.
timesofindia

Vietnam Looking to Purchase BrahMos Cruise Missiles

Vietnam is looking at India to supply the BrahMos missiles to meet its immediate requirement.
Vietnam also requested New Delhi for conversion training for Vietnamese pilots to fly Sukhoi-30 aircrafts.
Informal negotiations had been going between the countries for the joint Indo-Russian missiles that are being manufactured in India. Vietnam’s interest was renewed as a plan between Russia and the country to jointly produce a modified anti-ship missile is moving a slow pace
BrahMos cruise missiles have been adopted by India's Army and the Navy’s surface ships. The Indian Air Force has also ordered a batch of land-based missiles. Work is also underway to adapt the missile to Su-30MKI planes used by the Indian Air Force.
defense-studies

India to Bolster UAV Fleet for Border Surveillance

India plans to spend more than US $2 billion in the next five years to boost its UAV fleet, including mini UAVs, and sharpen its border surveillance, intelligence and communications capabilities.
The Army this month floated a tender to acquire 49 UAVs to be used for real-time intelligence and surveillance, to detect human or vehicular movement, target recognition and identification, and electronic intelligence and communication intelligence.
The tender has been sent to private Indian companies Idea Forge, Dynamatrics, Hi-tech Robotics, Ufcon, Omnipresent Technologies, Datapattern, Tata Advance Systems and state-owned Bharat Electronics.
The mini UAVs will be used for counterinsurgency operations in the northern state of Jammu and Kashmir, bordering Pakistan. The UAV will have an endurance of 30 to 90 minutes carrying a camera, and be able to perform auto tracking of targets.
The mini UAVs will gather intelligence and carry out reconnaissance along the Line of Control with Pakistan and the India-China border.
The Army is employing UAVs as a communication constellation and has put them to use in rescue operations, as observation posts and for medical evacuation.
The Army and Air Force have an immediate requirement for more than 700 mini UAVs.
The drones need to have endurance of 90 minutes with a loiter time of one hour. The vehicle needs to be able to reach an altitude of 2,000 feet carrying its camera.
In addition, the drones would have jam-resistant uplink and secured downlink, and the system should be easily transportable in one light vehicle and carrier in dismantled configuration in backpacks.
The Army plans to have about 1,600 mini UAVs by 2017 for use by the infantry and mechanized infantry.
defensenews

Indian Army to have Apache attack helicoptersin Mountain Strike Corps

The mountain strike corps sanctioned for the Army for deployment along the China border will have an aviation brigade that may include the Apache attack choppers.
business-standard

Indian Air Force , not Army, will get Apache attack helicopters

The defence ministry has rejected the Army's case for "ownership" of the 22 heavy-duty Apache helicopters, armed with deadly Hellfire and Stinger missiles, which India is all set to acquire from the US in a $1.4 billion contract.

timesofindia

Indian Army Orders 20 Cheetal Copters From HAL

The Indian Army has concluded a $76-million deal with HAL for 20 Cheetal helicopters and associated equipment to be supplied over four years. This is the first contract for supply of Cheetal helicopters to the Indian Army. HAL is in the process of supplying an earlier order of 10 Cheetal copters to the IAF.

Shiv Aroor-livefist

India's 197 Copter Deal Suspended, Indefinitely.

Bad news for Eurocopter and Kamov. The Indian Army / Air Force joint reconnaissance & surveillance helicopter (RSH) acquisition programme -- for 197 helicopters all in flyaway condition -- has been indefinitely deferred.

Shiv Aroor-livefist

Indian Army Receives First Rudra Armed Copter

The Indian Army today received its first HAL Rudra armed helicopter.

livefist

The Indian Army's First ALH Rudra Armed Copter

At Aero India, standing outside the HAL pavilion is the first ALH Rudra that will be delivered this week to the Indian Army.

- Shiv Aroor-livefist

India's Rudra Armed Copter Achieves Initial Clearance

The Advanced Light Helicopter Mk.4 Rudra armed helicopter for the Indian Army has achieved initial operational clearance (IOC). Dr. K. Tamilmani, CEO, Center for Military Airworthiness and Certification (CEMILAC) presented the certificate to HAL in Bangalore today.

HAL's rotorcraft division chief P. Soundara Rajan said, “In this particular case it involved four major groups of systems and weapons, involving eight countries: Israel, France, Belgium, South Africa, Germany, Italy, USA and India. Nearly 23 km of cables had to be laid and hundreds of hours of flight and ground tests were carried out."

Shiv Aroor livefist

PHOTOS: India's ALH Rudra Armed Copter

Shiv Aroor-livefist

Certification Next Week, First Rudra Copter To Army At Aero India

With certification complete, the first weaponised ALH Dhruv armed helicopter, christened Rudra, will formally receive certification next week. The Indian Army will receive its first Rudra at Aero India that kicks off on February 6 at the Yelahanka air force base in South India.

Shiv Aroor-livefist

India plans to install AEW on Army helicopters

The Indian Army is in the final stages of ordering a helicopter-borne early warning system. This system will be fitted on the Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH).

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