Apache Helicopters for Indian Air Force 13/05/2019 – Posted in: Press Information Bureau
Apache Helicopter
(Ministry of Defence)
WHAT
First AH-64E (I) – Apache Guardian helicopter was formally handed over to the Indian Air Force at Boeing production facility in Mesa, Arizona, USA on 10th May 2019.
- IAF had signed a contract with US Government and M/s Boeing Ltd in September 2015 for 22 Apache helicopters.
- Selected aircrew and ground crew have undergone training at the training facilities at US Army base Fort Rucker, Alabama.
- These personnel will lead the operationalisation of the Apache fleet in the IAF.
SIGNIFICANCE
- The helicopter has been customized to suit IAF’s future requirements and would have significant capability in mountainous terrain.
- The helicopter has the capability to carry out precision attacks at standoff ranges and operate in hostile airspace with threats from ground.
- The ability of these helicopters, to transmit and receive the battlefield picture, to and from the weapon systems through data networking makes it a lethal acquisition.
- These attack helicopters will provide significant edge in any future joint operations in support of land forces.
AH-64E (I) – APACHE GURDIAN HELICOPTER
- It is an American twin-turboshaft attack helicopter with a tailwheel-type landing gear arrangement and a tandem cockpit for a crew of two.
- It features a nose-mounted sensor suite for target acquisition and night vision systems.
- It is armed with a 30 mm (1.18 in) M230 chain gun carried between the main landing gear, under the aircraft’s forward fuselage, and four hardpoints mounted on stub-wing pylons for carrying armament and stores, typically a mixture of AGM-114 Hellfire missiles and Hydra 70 rocket pods.
- The AH-64 has significant systems redundancy to improve combat survivability.
Source: PIB
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