Army, HAL sign Rs 300 cr deal for 20 Cheetal choppers

[sudhir007]

Army, HAL sign Rs 300 cr deal for 20 Cheetal choppers

The Army on Thursday signed a Rs 300 crore contract with the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for procuring 20 Cheetal helicopters to boost its capability in carrying out high-altitude operations in areas like Siachen.

The Cheetals are being procured to fulfil the deficiencies faced by the force in light helicopter segment in view of the delays in the procurement of new 197 choppers for it and the IAF.

The Cheetal helicopters are the upgraded versions of the Cheetah/Chetak choppers in the Indian Armed Forces and have been equipped with stronger engines to enhance their performance.

The contract for the procurement was signed today between the Army and the HAL today and the first helicopter would be delivered within next two years from now, army sources said.

The negotiations for the deal started in December 2010 and it was cleared by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) headed by Defence Minister A K Antony last December, they said.

The Cheetals come with a longer range than their predecessors and will have a range of 640 km in comparison with the 540 km of the vintage choppers.

They will also have a better load-carrying capability in the high altitude areas as they can carry 90 kg while the Cheetahs can carry only 50 kg along with the pilots.

Army has some of its squadrons of Cheetah/Chetak choppers deployed in Siachen base camp and around Leh in Jammu and Kashmir to support its troops deployed at and along the world's highest battlefield there, the officials said.

The Defence Ministry is procuring 197 LUHs of which 133 would go to army while the remaining would go to IAF.

The deal is awaiting clearance by the DAC which has to decide on whether to allow certain deviations in the tendering process after going through a Special Technical Oversight Committee report in this regard.

European Eurocopter AS550 Fennec and Russian Kamov 226 Sergei are in race for supplying these new choppers.

 

[ironman1]

if we can upgrade chetak, why can't we upgrade cheetals ? cause no kickbacks to rotten politicians ???

 

[Skull and Bones]

if we can upgrade chetak, why can't we upgrade cheetals ? cause no kickbacks to rotten politicians ???

Cheetals are the upgraded version of Cheetah's with 1100 HP engine instead of 870 HP engine on the basic Cheetahs, making it suitable to be operated at the heights of Siachen.


Turbomeca - TM 333 2M2

 

[kaykay]

what about our dhruv??? I thought it can be operated on high altitudes like siachen too..right?? It was tested there especially mk3 so why can't we deploy this instead of cheetah?? AFAIK army has around 40 dhruvs as of now.

 

[janon]

what about our dhruv??? I thought it can be operated on high altitudes like siachen too..right?? It was tested there especially mk3 so why can't we deploy this instead of cheetah?? AFAIK army has around 40 dhruvs as of now.

Different weight category, much more expensive to procure as well as maintain.

 

[fsayed]

what about our dhruv??? I thought it can be operated on high altitudes like siachen too..right?? It was tested there especially mk3 so why can't we deploy this instead of cheetah?? AFAIK army has around 40 dhruvs as of now.

luh helicopter first flight will b held middle 2014 so this cheetal is just stopgap for time being just wait watch india is heading to become selfsufficient in helicopter no need to import from veiw by 2020

 

[kaykay]

Different weight category, much more expensive to procure as well as maintain.

Different weight category, much more expensive to procure as well as maintain.

true but It can carry a total 600kgs especially at those altitudes where as cheetahs can carry only 50kgs so dhruv seems to be cheaper option here. IMO they are procuring cheetals for stopgap measures till dhruv mk3(with shakti engines) produced in large numbers!! Just my openion!

 

[janon]

true but It can carry a total 600kgs especially at those altitudes where as cheetahs can carry only 50kgs so dhruv seems to be cheaper option here. IMO they are procuring cheetals for stopgap measures till dhruv mk3(with shakti engines) produced in large numbers!! Just my openion!

No, these are used for roles like recce and observation of the battlefield, as well as for carrying small amounts of cargo from the home base to far flung outposts. Daily supplies of food and ammo to the bunkers near the LoC. The so called "last leg". When they need to carry only 50 kilograms of cargo, using a chopper that can carry 600 kgs would be a huge waste. So utilizing Dhruvs for these missions would be like using a truck to transport daily groceries from the marketplace to home, when a small car or motorbike would do just as well. It would be expensive not only in terms of the fuel consumed, but also in terms of the airframe life of the Dhruvs, and the skills of Dhruv pilots, all of which can be utilized for bigger needs.

If there is a need to transport 600 kgs, then the Dhruv would be the best choice, instead of several sorties of cheetals. That is why the forces have choppers in different weight categories, to suit different needs efficiently. Most of the day to day resupplying of forward posts would be done by very light helos like the cheetals for now, and the LUH in future.

 

[Skull and Bones]

what about our dhruv??? I thought it can be operated on high altitudes like siachen too..right?? It was tested there especially mk3 so why can't we deploy this instead of cheetah?? AFAIK army has around 40 dhruvs as of now.

Price of Cheetal is $1.2 million (back in 2006 when i talked with a pilot of Indian Army air wing, he told me it's priced at 6.5 crores INR), while the acquisition price of HAL Dhruv for Indian armed forces is $5.4 million (export and civilian models priced at $7.2 million) per piece.

Do your math.

 

[sudhir007]

Tarmak007 -- A bold blog on Indian defence: HAL to supply 20 Cheetal choppers to Army

HAL has signed contract worth Rs. 418 crore with the Ministry of Defence for supply of 20 Cheetal helicopters and associated equipments to the Indian Army over the next four years. HAL will also provide training to the pilots and technical crew. This is the first contract for supply of Cheetal helicopters to the Indian Army. HAL had the initial order for 10 Cheetal helicopters from Indian Air Force.


About Cheetal Helicopter:



Cheetal is the re-engined variant (developed as company funded programme) of the proven Cheetah helicopter being manufactured by HAL for over four decades. Cheetal helicopter is equipped with a Turbomeca TM 333-2M2 free turbine turboshaft engine which is more fuel efficient and provides higher payload capability of 90 kgs at an altitude of 6 kms. Cheetal helicopter can operate up to seven kms altitude and has a range of 640 kms with an endurance of 3.50 hrs.



The Cheetal is fitted with a full authority digital engine control (FADEC) system for engine control and an Electronic Backup Control Box (EBCB) system which automatically takes over engine control in the event of FADEC failure. Cheetal incorporates features of modern cockpit instruments like electrically driven artificial horizon, directional gyro, Flight monitoring system, Cockpit Voice Recorder and Master Flasher Warning System.


The Cheetal helicopter is a multirole helicopter and is best suited for the missions such as personnel transport, casualty evacuation, reconnaissance and aerial survey, logistic air support, rescue operations and under slung loads (cargo).