A day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi leaves for the United States (US), the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) on Tuesday cleared a $3.1 billion (Rs20,000 crore) deal for purchase of 22 Apache attack helicopters and 15 Chinook heavy lift helicopters from the US.
The contract negotiations were finalised two years ago between the Defence Ministry and Boeing, manufacturer of Apache and Chinook helicopters, but the deal was stuck in red tapism.
The CCS, chaired by the Prime Minister, gave the final clearance after the Finance Ministry agreed to the
price tag.
At present, the IAF has two squadrons (one squadron has 12-15 helicopters) of Russian-made MI-35 attack helicopters, which are in the final stage of their operational life.
The induction of the US-made helicopters in the next three to four years will act as a force multiplier and change dynamics of war as the Apaches are meant to destroy enemy tanks, armoured personnel carriers and built-up areas like fortified bunkers.
Similarly, the Chinooks will help the Army rapidly airlift more troops and weaponry to high altitude areas, besides plains in times of emergency, sustaining the tempo of operations and denying the enemy time and space to thwart an attack, officials said here on Tuesday.
The Indian Air Force now has five to seven operational MI-26 heavy lift helicopters which also have to be replaced immediately.
The US made at least ten price revision attempts for the Apache and Chinook helicopters over the delay in finalising the contract, but the Indian Government did not agree. The negotiations started in 2009 and the expected timeline for wrapping up the deal was 2013.
The contract will have clauses to place follow-on orders for 11 more Apaches and seven extra Chinooks.
Both the helicopters, which were deployed by the US forces during the war in Iraq and in Afghanistan, emerged winners after beating Russian-made MI-28N Night Hunter attack helicopters and MI-26 heavy lift helicopters in technical evaluation and price.
The Apache AH 64D longbow helicopters are one of the most advanced multi-role combat helicopters, having all-weather and night fighting features, ability to track up to 128 targets in less than a minute and engage with 16, besides stealth characteristics, advanced sensors and beyond visual range missiles.
These helicopters for India will also be fitted with Hellfire missiles and rockets.
Incidentally, the deal for Apache is “a hybrid one,” with one contract to be signed with Boeing for the helicopter and the other with the US Government for its weapons, radars and electronic warfare suites, officials said. Explaining the significance of Government-to-Government deal for weapons, officials said it will ensure that the IAF gets state-of-the-art systems.
They also said the deal for two types of helicopters will also have an offset clause of 30 per cent. It means that the US aviation manufacturer will have to invest 30 per cent of the total cost of the contract in Indian industries. This clause will help the Indian aviation industry to get hold of sophisticated technology, they said.
Moreover, the Indian Army is also likely to acquire Apache attack helicopters for its aviation wing. The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) in May last year had approved three squadrons of attack helicopters for the Army and they will be flown by Army pilots.
The US in the last one decade has emerged as the biggest Defence equipment supplier to India after bagging contracts worth over $10 billion. These contracts included C-130J medium transport aircraft, C-17 heavy transport aircraft and Trenton amphibious assault carrier besides others. Trenton was rechristened INS Jalashwa.
