DAC approves 6 Apache helicopters for the Army

The Defence Ministry on Thursday cleared the purchase of six US-made Apache-64E helicopters at a cost of Rs 4,168 crore for the Indian Army, which seeks to expand its own air assets to support the ground troops.
 
The six choppers would be in addition to the 22 similar-class Apache helicopters that India purchased from Boeing in 2015 for the Indian Air Force.
 
The new deal – approved by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) – took advantage of the old contract's “option clause” that allows purchasing of 11 more choppers at the similar price.
 
For the time being, the defence ministry decided to buy half-a-dozen of these attack helicopters for the Army that seeks to expand its aviation capacity.
 
An army aviation base is coming up in the north east and efforts are on to set up another composite aviation base in the northern parts of West Bengal.
 
So far all helicopters operated by the Army are unarmed. In contrary, the Apache-64E are to be delivered with a number of weapons. The commonly used weapons for the Apache are Hellfire Longbow missiles, Hellfire-II missiles and Stinger missiles. The gunship will come with fire-control radars too.
 
For a long time, the IAF and Army were locked in a tussle on the ownership of the Apache helicopters. Though Army wanted to use these helicopters, the IAF doggedly objected to the idea.
 
In fact, former IAF chief N A K Browne publicly stated that he could not allow “little air forces doing things of their own,” citing a 1986 document on how the Army and IAF would use their air assets.
 
However, in 2012 then Army Chief Gen Bikram Singh stated the defence ministry agreed to allow the Army to raise its own fleet of attack helicopters in the future.
 
Besides the Apache, the Army is also looking at the indigenous Rudra light combat helicopters, made by the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, which handed over 22 of these choppers to the Army for flying and weapon integration trials.
 
The DAC also clears a Rs 490 crore package to procure two gas turbines from Ukraine for the two frigates that India would be purchasing from Russia for the Navy.