NEW DELHI: The Indian Army will start phasing out its Cheetah and Chetak helicopters in three to four years, with the entire fleet set to be replaced with new choppers over the next 10 to 12 years as the Army Aviation Corps seeks to modernise its capabilities with new light utility helicopters, attack helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles, top officials aware of the development said on Tuesday.
It will follow a two-pronged replacement approach — induct locally produced light utility helicopters (LUH) and lease similar choppers as a stopgap to meet critical requirements, said one of the officials asking not to be named.
The army needs around 250 new helicopters.
“We will order around 100 LUHs from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). Given the production capacity of HAL, we must look at alternative means to replace the entire fleet. Leasing some helicopters for a few years is an option, and then we can go back to HAL for the remaining numbers,” the official said.
The design of the single-engine Cheetah and Chetak helicopters is almost six decades old, and their airworthiness has been questioned after a string of mishaps in recent years. In March, two army pilots were killed in a Cheetah crash in the mountains of Arunachal Pradesh. The accident turned the spotlight on the troubling safety record of the ageing helicopters and the pressing need to replace them with newer ones as quickly as possible.
Around 15 Cheetahs and Chetaks have crashed during the last 10 years, killing several pilots.
The existing fleet is airworthy and still has a technical life of a few years left, the officials said.
It is not dangerous to fly them, said a second official. “Otherwise, we would have stopped flying them. We will start with replacing those helicopters whose technical life will be over in three to four years, and the process will continue. Accidents do happen but there is no major issue with the helicopter,” he said.
For decades, Cheetahs have played a crucial role in supporting the army’s deployments in high-altitude areas, including the Siachen glacier.
LUH, which is being fitted with an autopilot by HAL, will meet the army’s requirements in high-altitude areas and the helicopter will have a better load-carrying capacity than Cheetahs and Chetaks, the officials said.
“Autopilot is a key requirement as LUH has a different rotor system. Flying LUH beyond 30-35 minutes becomes humanly impossible because of the loads which come back on the pilot. Once autopilot is fitted, the load-carrying capability of LUH will be phenomenal,” said the second official, adding that LUH can carry 25 to 30% more load than Cheetah.
HAL licence-produced 625 Cheetah and Chetak helicopters for the three services.
HAL no longer builds them but is responsible for their maintenance and repair. In 1970, HAL signed an agreement with French aerospace firm Aerospatiale to produce Cheetahs, eight years after it tied up with another French firm, Sud-Aviation (now Airbus), to manufacture Chetaks.
In August 2014, India scrapped a ₹6,000-crore project to import light utility helicopters to replace Cheetah and Chetak helicopters, the third time the procurement was scrapped due to corruption allegations and technical issues. The Kamov-226T light utility choppers, planned to be built jointly with Russia, were to replace Cheetahs and Chetaks. But the $1-billion programme never took off.
The army has so far ordered six limited-series production LUHs from HAL.
It is also set to induct next year six Boeing-made AH64E Apache attack helicopters ordered in 2020 from the US for more than ₹4,100 crore. Armed with fire-and-forget Hellfire missiles, the Apache can track up to 128 targets a minute and prioritise threats. The missiles equip the gunships with heavy anti-armour capabilities.
The army will deploy its Apaches along the country’s western border with Pakistan, the officials said.
It is also on course to order more light combat helicopters (LCH), having raised and operationalised the first LCH squadron this year. The army needs around 90 LCHs, also designed and developed by HAL.
Other inductions in the works include Hermes 900 Starliner UAVs and additional advanced light helicopter Mk-III, the officials said. The process of integrating locally developed anti-tank guided missile Helina with armed ALHs called Rudra is also on and is expected to be completed in a year.
The Heron MK II UAVs inducted this year and the planned induction of Hermes 900 Starliners will not only boost the reconnaissance and surveillance capability of the army but also their teaming with combat helicopters will prove to be a game changer in the third dimension, the officials said.
The army currently has three aviation brigades and plans to raise more, they said.
The army will induct in the next three to four years the MQ-9B remotely piloted aircraft systems to be imported from the US. The acquisition of these drones, in a government-to-government deal estimated to be worth $3 billion, will significantly boost the Indian military’s strength as the versatile platform can strike targets with its on-board weapons, it can carry out intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance; and its other roles include electronic warfare, defensive counter air and airborne early warning.
India is pursuing a deal to buy 31 drones — 15 for the navy, and eight each for the army and the Indian Air Force.
Aisha Patel is a dedicated Indian correspondent with a deep understanding of the nation’s diverse affairs. With a background in Indian culture, politics, and current events, she provides in-depth analysis and timely reporting on domestic issues within India.
