The Defence Ministry on Thursday cleared a proposal worth over Rs 4,168 crore for the procurement of six Apache attack helicopters for the Indian Army. It will enable the Army to have its own attack helicopters flown by pilots of the Army Aviation Corps. These helicopters will provide cover to the Army’s tanks and destroy the enemy’s armed vehicles and fortified positions.
With this go-ahead given by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) chaired by Defence Minister Arun Jaitley, the long standing tussle between the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Army came to an end as the IAF was initially reluctant to allow the Army to have its own attack helicopters. The IAF also maintained that two Services flying helicopters will duplicate the effort of maintenance.
Incidentally, in 2015 the Government had cleared a project worth $2 billion for procuring 22 Apache attack helicopters from the US for the IAF. The induction of these helicopters in the IAF will begin in 2018.
The DAC meeting on Thursday also gave the green signal to a proposal for procuring two gas turbine engines from Ukraine for the two frigates for the Indian Navy now under construction in Russia.
The gas turbine deal is worth over Rs 490 crore, Defence Ministry sources said here after the meeting.
The Rs 4,168 crore Apache deal covers the helicopters along with associated equipment, including spares, training, weapons and ammunition. The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) chaired by the Prime Minister will now vet the proposal before clearing it.
At present, the IAF has two squadrons (one squadron has 15 units) of Russian-made MI-35 helicopters, which provide the necessary muscle to the Army for fighting tank battles. When the IAF first moved a proposal to procure Apache attack helicopters almost a decade ago, the Army put up its own case for acquiring these helicopters for its aviation corps. The Government on Thursday cleared the proposal for buying six Apaches whereas the Army had projected the need for 11 helicopters, sources said.
Manufactured by Boeing, Apache 64-D helicopters are rated to be the most advanced multi-role heavy attack helicopters. India had signed the deal for 22 Apaches for the IAF under the Foreign Military Sale (FMS) route. The FMS deals bound the US Government with honouring all the terms and conditions of the contract including adherence to delivery schedule.
The Indian Army plans to deploy these helicopters with its three Strike Corps which are an amalgamation of tanks and artillery firepower. In war, these Corps carry out offensive action against the enemy and the helicopters are used to pummel enemy tanks and its fortified positions.
Officials also said, Jaitley took stock of various proposals in the 90-minute meeting and insisted on close monitoring and expeditious clearance of pending capital acquisition cases especially those at the competent financial authority and cost negotiation stages. The DAC is the apex body for clearing proposals put forward by the three Services.