Indian Army all set to receive Apache attack helicopters in December
While the Apaches are for the deserts, the Army is set to deploy the indigenous light combat helicopter (LCH), manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd., in Ladakh next year.
“The manufacturer has communicated that there have been manufacturing delays due to supply chain issues. The first batch of three Apaches is now set to be delivered in December and the next three few months after that,” a defence source said. As per the original schedule, three helicopters were supposed to be delivered in May and three in July.
The issue of delays was taken up with the U.S. at the political level and it was requested to prioritise the deliveries, the source added. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh was on an official visit to the U.S. in August.
On the LCH, a second source said the plan was to deploy them in Ladakh in 2024-25. The Apaches are ideal for countering armour and would be deployed in the deserts, another official said, adding that their capability gets limited in high altitudes due to their operational envelope. The LCH is specifically designed for high-altitude conditions, the official added.
In March, the Army Aviation formally raised the 451 Aviation Squadron at Jodhpur that would operate the Apaches. The Apaches would be the second attack helicopters in the Army after the indigenous LCH.
India signed a deal with Boeing for six Apaches, for the Army, at a cost of around $800 million in February 2020. As part of the deal, six pilots and 24 technicians were trained by Boeing in the U.S.
The Army Aviation, which has for long operated utility helicopters, inducted its first dedicated attack helicopter with the LCH and the first squadron, 351 Army Aviation, was moved to Missamari, Assam in the Eastern sector near the Line of Actual Control in November 2022.
The Cabinet Committee had in the past given sanction for the procurement of 39 AH-64 Apache attack helicopters from the U.S., as part which the Indian Air Force inducted 22 Apaches under a deal signed in September 2015. Subsequently, the government decided that future Apache procurements would go to the Army.
While the Army has been pushing the case for 11 more Apaches, the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) last year ordered a study on the number of armoured helicopters required by the three services which supported the requirement for 39 heavy attack helicopters.
The Defence Acquisition Council has already approved the procurement of 156 LCH at an estimated cost of ₹45,000 crore, 90 for the Army and 66 for the Air Force. These are in addition to the 15 limited series production LCH being procured — 10 for IAF and five for the Army — at a cost of ₹4,264 crore, In addition to the LCH, the Army operates 75 Rudra helicopters, the armed version of the advanced light helicopter.
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