Sources say that the Army is thinking about getting rid of its old fleet of Cheetah and Chetak choppers starting in 2027. They are also thinking about getting light utility helicopters as replacements and are looking into the option of hiring them. Around 190 Chetak, Cheetah, and Cheetal helicopters are being used by the Army Aviation Corps right now, they said.
However, the Army is also considering renting helicopters to meet its needs. It will be getting about 100 light utility helicopters (LUH).
“For the reconnaissance and surveillance work, we need about 250 light helicopters.” A person said, “Of these, more than 100 will be Light Utility Helicopters. Given HAL’s current capabilities, we also need to find other ways to replace the whole fleet of Cheetahs and Chetaks.”
The LUH is made by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL).
“We are looking at a few other options, such as leasing options, in which we rent a few helicopters for a few years. Then, if HAL can make the balance of the numbers, we might be able to go to HAL too.” “The focus is on picking up helicopters from inside the country, though,” the source said.
It will likely be between 10 and 12 years before the Cheetahs and Chetaks are replaced.
The sources also said that problems with the design of advanced light helicopters (ALH) have been fixed.
They also said that the Light Utility Helicopters (LUH) are getting autopilots and will be ready to be sent out by the end of 2024.
They said that tests are being done on a LUH that has an autopilot.
What we know now is that there were some problems with installing the autopilot in the LUH at first.
There will be one more brigade added to the Army Aviation Corps, which already has three brigades: two at the northern border and one on the western border.
Sources say that the Army Aviation is also excited about getting Apache Attack Helicopters starting next year.
They said that they are looking into the possibility of getting more light combat helicopters because they want to find the best mix between airlift and airstrike capabilities.
They also said that work is being done to connect the HELINA weapons to the Advanced Light Helicopter (Weapon System Integrated).
It was the Army Aviation Corps’ 38th Raising Day not long ago.
Adding multi-engine Dhruv helicopters to the Army Aviation fleet more than 20 years ago was the first step toward modernization.
The Army Aviation has more firepower now that armed helicopters have been used since 2013. The ALH became known as a solid tactical lift platform.
It now has a modern Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Mk-III, an ALH Weapon System Integrated (WSI) version, and a Light Combat Helicopter (LCH).
Sources say that the addition of remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) has improved both our ability to spy and strike, and has turned Army Aviation into a powerful force multiplier that can work with combined combat teams.
