Aerospace Diary

by  Neelam Mathews  -  January 14, 2019, 1:26 PM The first AH-64E for the Indian Air Force first flew in July 2018. The army is also to receive six of the type. (photo: Boeing) The Indian Army is looking forward to putting into operation a range of helicopters, of which its most prized are six Boeing AH-64E Apache helicopters being acquired as part of a follow-on order to the deal India signed for 22 Apaches and 15 Chinook heavy-lifters for the Indian air force (IAF) in September 2015. However, the row that has been ongoing for over six years between the Indian Army Aviation Corps (AAC) and IAF concerning who will operate the attack helicopters may be simmering again. The Ministry of Defense assigned ownership, operation and maintenance of attack helicopters to the AAC in November 2012, but the current status remains elusive.The Indian Amy Chief, Bipin Rawat, accepted when talking to  AIN  on January 10 that the IAF will get their Apaches first, an...

by  Neelam Mathews  -  September 12, 2018, 2:58 PM The AMCA stealthy fifth-generation fighter project aims to provide a replacement for India's Sukhoi SU-30MKI fighters, one of which is seen here with an Australian F/A-18 Hornet. (photo: Royal Australian Air Force) With the number of the Indian Air Force’s fighter squadrons expected to decrease quickly from the present 31 as the current fleet ages, there has been a decisive endeavor to accelerate the recapitalization of the fighter fleet. The majority of the new fighters are to bear the “Make in India” label. By 2032, the Indian Air Force plans to have at least 18 squadrons of Indian-made fighters, said the Deputy Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal R. Nambiar, at a conference held in Delhi this month. Nambiar said that the squadrons of the indigenously built fleet would include the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Mk1, Mk1A, and Mk2 that, in 10 years, “would be the mainstay of our inventory.” LCA variants would r...

ROTORHUB 29th August 2014 - 18:14 by  Neelam Mathews  in New Delhi India has cleared the offsets proposal for 22 Boeing AH-64E Apache attack and 15 CH-47F Chinook heavy helicopters for the Indian Air Force.  The Defence Acquisitions Council, (DAC), headed by the defence minister, announced the move on August 29. The approval comes on the heels of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheduled to visit to the US on September 30.  It takes both deals closer to completion with clearances to be made by the finance ministry, which shares its minister with defence, and by the Cabinet Committee of Security. Meanwhile, the long pending, oft re-tendered, 197 Indian Army/Air Force Reconnaissance Surveillance Helicopter (RSH) bid for the Indian Army and Air Force, has been officially scrapped, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, Boeing, last year, signed a MoU with Bangalore-based ......................................