Army Plans To Start Phasing Out Cheetah, Chetak Helicopters In 3-4 Years

The Indian Army's aviation corps will replace its entire fleet of Cheetah and Chetak choppers in the next 10-12 years with indigenously built helicopters, according to sources in the Army.

According to the sources, to replace the existing fleet of helicopters they are looking at options like leasing helicopters for a few years and subsequently, if HAL(Hindustan Aeronautics Limited) is able to manufacture the balance numbers then they may go to HAL. But the focus is on indigenisation and acquiring helicopters from within the country.

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"Our phasing out will start in two-three years but then we are hopeful we will start getting Light Utility Helicopters (LUH) so whatever gets phased out would get replaced in a reasonable timeframe by these LUHs," according to sources.

"For the replacement of Cheetah and Chetaks in Army Aviation, a two-pronged approach has been adopted. We are progressing with the induction of Light Utility Helicopters (LUH) and also looking at alternative replacement helicopters. For modernisation, we are looking to achieve an optimum balance of airlift and airstrike capability, hence we are also processing cases for additional LCH helicopters. Integration of HELINA missiles with ALH-WSI is also under progress," said a senior Army officer.

The officer said that the modernization of Army Aviation began over two decades ago with the induction of multi-engine Dhruv helicopters. While ALH gained a reputation as a reliable tactical lift platform, the induction of Armed Helicopters in 2013, added firepower to our arsenal. Today's Army Aviation includes modern Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Mk-III, Weapon System Integrated (WSI) helicopter and Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) and is set to add state-of-the-art Light Utility Helicopters (LUH) and Apache Attack Helicopters in its inventory.

The transfer of remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) has further enhanced surveillance as well as strike capability and transformed Army Aviation into a potent force multiplier capable of operating in Combined Combat Teams concept and of performing varied tasks across the varied terrain of our country, the officer added.

In a supporting role, Army aviation has to be part of combat teams or combined arms teams and that is something that has started happening.

Right from the planning stage, the Army aviation is involved. Unlike earlier when operations were first planned and then aviation used to come in a supportive role. This is that they have learned from wars and it has been already put in place, the officer said.

Flight Safety is and will be the biggest concern for Aviation Operations as this profession remains vulnerable to the vagaries of weather and human error. We are implementing strong measures at a tri-service level to minimize such tragedies.

Synchronisation of policies and Aviation Standards is being undertaken at the Tri-Service level. In addition, to prepare aviators for adverse weather situations and disorientation, training on motion simulators has been enhanced.