JOIN USThe Border Security Force (BSF) will have more air power from Thursday with the induction of two new advanced Mi-17 V5 choppers.
The induction of the Russian-made choppers comes six years after Advanced Light Helicopters (Dhruv) were taken into the force.
The new choppers will bolster BSF's support missions for troops along the borders and in the hinterland for anti-Maoist operations.
BSF officials said these two aircraft are armed with the latest avionics and night-flying capabilities, which have been a long-time requirement for a force undertaking operations in Maoist-affected zones. The aircraft, once all eight are inducted, will have Raipur, Ranchi, Srinagar and Delhi as bases. The next batch of three choppers will be inducted in May and the rest in September.
At present, the BSF Air Wing has a fleet of four Fixed Wing (FW) aircraft (one Embraer, two Avros and one SKA B-200) and 13 helicopters (six MI-17 1V, six ALH (Dhruv) and one Cheetah helicopter).
The Mi-17 version (Mi – 17 1V H/c) of choppers was first inducted in 2003 and was mainly used for air logistics and communication tasks.
“The versatility of the Mi-17 platform has opened up new avenues for additional tasks like reconnaissance, security, urban policing, VIP movement etc. There is an expanding operational requirement to augment our capacity of medium lift helicopters due to the dynamic nature of national security threats,” an official said.
He added that the government recognises the increasing use of air dimension in addressing internal security challenges.
“Government's aim is to provide short, swift and sharp air-lift capabilities to paramilitary troops and assist in ground operations. Any ground movement of troops is time consuming, vulnerable to IEDs and ambushes by Maoists. The safest and quickest passage can only be attained by creating air-bridge. Hence, government has decided to deploy these MI 17 V5 helicopters,” the official said.