Army Aviation lacks helicopters: Parliament Standing Committee on Defence

[Major Shaitan Singh]

New Delhi: Parliament's Standing Committee on Defence has confirmed that there are huge gaps between sanctioned and existing weapons platform with the Army. According to the Standing Committee on Defence report tabled in Parliament on Monday there is a huge shortage of helicopters with the Army Aviation unit. The Army faces a shortage of 18 Cheetah, one Chetak, 76 Advance Light Helicopter and 60 Advance Light Helicopter with weapon systems.

The report reveals that the letter written by Army Chief General VK Singh to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the poor state of Army's war preparedness and the obsolete weaponry showed the factual status. In the letter addressed to the Prime Minister dated March 12, General Singh had written that the Army's tank regiments lacked ammunition to defeat the enemy, the air defence was almost obsolete and the infantry falling short of critical weapons.

He underlined that the country's security might be at stake due to the critical shortage of ammunition. The letter, sent to the Prime Minister's Office, had asked Manmohan Singh to 'pass suitable directions to enhance the preparedness of the Army'. The explosive letter comes amidst claims made by the Army Chief that he was offered bribe to clear a deal for sub-standard vehicles in the Army.

General Singh wrote that the Army's entire tank fleet was devoid of critical ammunition to defeat enemy tanks. He also added that the air defence was '97 per cent obsolete and it doesn't give the deemed confidence to protect from the air', the infantry had 'deficiencies of crew served weapon' and lacks 'night fighting' capabilities and that the Elite Special Forces were 'woefully short of essential weapons'.

General Singh also pointed out that the 'hollowness' in the system is a manifestation of the procedures and processing time for procurements as well as legal impediments by vendors.

General Singh also mentioned that the work quality was poor and there was a 'lack of urgency at all levels' on matters of national security.

The Standing Committee also said that the report by a national daily on the movement of troops which reportedly spooked the government was not true. According to the Committee the details furnished by Defence Secretary Shashi Kant Sharma showed that the movement of troops was purely for training purposes aimed at refining the mobilisation drills and ensuring operational preparedness of the Army under adverse weather conditions.

On the issue of seeking Ministry of Defence's permission or intimating it about such movement, the Defence Secretary also substantiated that to the best of his knowledge there was no such government order

Army Aviation lacks helicopters: Parliament Standing Committee on Defence - India News - IBNLive

 

[Abingdonboy]

TBH I see the situation being reversed in the not too distant future- HAL is increasing ALH production lines, LOH/LUH are being procured from abroad and developed by HAL and soon the IA AAC will get the advanced LCH.

 

[COLDHEARTED AVIATOR]

Army Aviation needs a lot more stuff and should be expanded and these idiots and not even providing the basics.

 

[acetophenol]

Are the chetak cheetah production lines still open?

 

[angeldemon_007]

TBH I see the situation being reversed in the not too distant future- HAL is increasing ALH production lines, LOH/LUH are being procured from abroad and developed by HAL and soon the IA AAC will get the advanced LCH.

I think Army aviation should have atleast 300-400 Mi17V5(troop transport), 50-60 Mi26(transferring M777, air defence guns etc.) and 80 Mi28/Apache (For armored regiment)....In addition to this for high altitude areas, the requirement of 116 LCH is good...but considering most of our troubled borders are located in high altitudes, 100 more LCH might be good addition.

Are the chetak cheetah production lines still open?

With new glass cockpit, new avionics and warning systems & new powerful engine...its a whole new mean machine. IA likes this new generation of Chetak and cheetah.

 

[COLDHEARTED AVIATOR]

I think Army aviation should have atleast 300-400 Mi17V5(troop transport), 50-60 Mi26(transferring M777, air defence guns etc.) and 80 Mi28/Apache (For armored regiment)....In addition to this for high altitude areas, the requirement of 116 LCH is good...but considering most of our troubled borders are located in high altitudes, 100 more LCH might be good addition.

What about CAS a/c?(fixed wing)

 

[Adnan Faruqi]

Nothing new very old story.

The question is when MMS and antony will move their butt??

 

[acetophenol]

With new glass cockpit, new avionics and warning systems & new powerful engine...its a whole new mean machine. IA likes this new generation of Chetak and cheetah.

Have you got any pics?

 

[Abingdonboy]

Are the chetak cheetah production lines still open?

Yes but the new-build versions HAL produce are the Cheetan and Cheetal with improved and up-rated engines allowing these birds to fly higher, faster and with more cargo than previous models. These new birds also have glass cockpits and improved avionics. aA good interim measure unitl newer a/c arrive in a few years ( for India atleast).

 

[Papa]

Have you got any pics?

Cheetan:

More info:

Here comes chota Chetan! - Rediff.com India News

Cheetal:

 

[acetophenol]

thanks a ton guys!

 

[SajeevJino]

Army have own Aviation ...HAL dhruv is the Helo provided for their ops....they operated more than 40 helo's ...And more order will come in upcoming years

I hope army gets in Future

AH 64 attack Helicopters
HAL LCH
HAL Dhruv
HAL LOH

 

[COLDHEARTED AVIATOR]

The Army needs to have its own Air wing specially with the Strike corps.LCH+Apache+A 10 would be a deadly combination considering the strengths of our enemy.Our stratergy in a war would be that the Strike Corps would go deep in enemy territroy capturing as much land as possible.Now the region where the Strike Corps would be deployed is mostly plain and the enemy has good number of tanks.

In order that our Armoured forces keep moving without much resistance we would need weapons like CBU 105 which we already have plus platforms like Apache,LCH and A 10s will ensure that we can move more at a faster pace with less resistance for our Armoured forces thus having less casualties.

A 10s are a must for Strike Corps..not a problem if the defensive Corps dont have them.Apaches and LCH would be enough to hold their own.

I believe the purpose of the Air Force is to ensure Air Superioirity and CAS role should be given to the Army Aviation wing.When the Airfoce can have its Special Forces then why cant the Army have its own mini Air Force.

 

[Abingdonboy]

The Army needs to have its own Air wing specially with the Strike corps.LCH+Apache+A 10 would be a deadly combination considering the strengths of our enemy.Our stratergy in a war would be that the Strike Corps would go deep in enemy territroy capturing as much land as possible.Now the region where the Strike Corps would be deployed is mostly plain and the enemy has good number of tanks.

In order that our Armoured forces keep moving without much resistance we would need weapons like CBU 105 which we already have plus platforms like Apache,LCH and A 10s will ensure that we can move more at a faster pace with less resistance for our Armoured forces thus having less casualties.

A 10s are a must for Strike Corps..not a problem if the defensive Corps dont have them.Apaches and LCH would be enough to hold their own.

I believe the purpose of the Air Force is to ensure Air Superioirity and CAS role should be given to the Army Aviation wing.When the Airfoce can have its Special Forces then why cant the Army have its own mini Air Force.

If only, if only. When the IA is fighting for its own attack helo assets (it has been given LCH and ALH WSI as a consolation prize for IAF operating the "big dogs"- Mi-35 and now Apache) I think the idea of the IA being allowed to get A-10s or any fixed wing asset is quite remote. There really does need to be a change up in the thinking of the forces to stop them continuously stepping on one-another's toes and work together for the greater good. ANC is a great example of what great things can be achieved if all sides work together.

 

[COLDHEARTED AVIATOR]

If only, if only. When the IA is fighting for its own attack helo assets (it has been given LCH and ALH WSI as a consolation prize for IAF operating the "big dogs"- Mi-35 and now Apache) I think the idea of the IA being allowed to get A-10s or any fixed wing asset is quite remote. There really does need to be a change up in the thinking of the forces to stop them continuously stepping on one-another's toes and work together for the greater good. ANC is a great example of what great things can be achieved if all sides work together.

If and If the Airforce concentrates on maintaining Air Superiority and the Army is given full CAS role then you will also see a lot less friendly kills.Now with our system we need to have a Joint Chief who will acts as a medium for the flow of informations on various operations so that all the assets are properly used and there are no friendly kills as well..which we dont have as yet.

Our system needs to change a lot and needs to follow the US on this.We firstly need a JSOC.Ours is a situation where one SF is over burdened and the others is not seeing the action a Special Forces needs to see.We need tobalance it out.

Secondly the fly boys need to be convinced that their role should be to maintain Air Superiority and CAS role should be given to the Army.The Army and the Air Force would hence be able to function in a better way.

Imagine a Army commander having his Armoured Corps officers,Infantry officers,Artillery officers,Sappers and Air Wing(like i proposed) on one table and jointly planning for an offensive.It will make things a lot easier.

BTW buddy i heard that the Hinds are under Army control but the Air force just takes care of them..is it true?