India to order another 59 Russian Mi-17 helicopters

[acetophenol]

Hello?
Sme one answer me! Local productin?

 

[Archie]

"Of the 80 Mi-17s ordered under the $1.34-billion deal in 2008, the first squadron has come up in Bhatinda. IAF will get 26 of these choppers by end-December, with the second squadron coming up in Srinagar by March. All the 80 will be inducted by 2014

Woo hoo

So first sqd already in place
, well That was quick by Russian Standard Time
26 Mi17V5 s by December , that's even Better and to top it all , second sqd will be ready by March , Thats like 32 Mi17V5 by March 2012
No wonder IAF retired 15 Mi-8 in August in anticipation of fast delivery of First sqd

Additional 59 Mi17V5 will play a great role in Augmenting our medium lift capabilities and will add Number to our Rotor-craft fleet

As you know IAF will completely phase out its Mi-8 Fleet in favour of Mi17V5 by 2014-15 , though it is Possible that 20-30 Mi-8 which were inducted after 1988 could be transferred to BSF or CRPF for Anti Naxal operations

IAF recently announced plans to Upgrade 30 older Mi17s inducted between 2002-05 to Mi17V5 Standards , while remaining 20 Mi17S COULD BE TRANSFERED TO Army or BSF for counter insurgency operations in J&K


"The 59 more Mi-17s, which will cost around $1 billion, will be ordered under the follow-on clause in the first contract. They will also be weaponized for combat operations like the first 80. The new Mi-17s will also make it possible for IAF to deploy additional choppers for logistical support in anti-Naxal operations," he added.

Now this is something which I did not Know of , so we are inducting weaponized Mi17 V5 , well that explains why they were more expensive since Non weaponized Mi17 V5 cost about 10 Million USD each .
And to think , the first Time I read about IAF inducting Weaponized Mi17V5 was in an article by Riaz Haq , RAMBLING ABOUT Indian Arms Buildup ,So naturally i paid as Much attention to it as i would have paid to the Toilet Paper , it must have been originally written on

 

[OrionHunter]

Wow, another 59 apart from 80?, We would have a great Helicopter Armada When 200+ LCH gets Inducted with these Beauties

Hmmm...India is sure on a splurging spree! Now I know where all my tax is going!!

Sheeesh! Lol!

 

[Skull and Bones]

Hello?
Sme one answer me! Local productin?

Russian made helis are cheaper, so no point for domestic production and stretching HAL production lines. Let them finish their ongoing production first.

 

[Archie]

Navy, too, is keen to kick-start the induction of 90 multi-role helicopters (MRHs), with both combat and search-and-rescue capabilities, to replace the older Sea King helicopters and meet the requirements of a growing maritime force.

At present, the field trial evaluation report of European NH-90 and American Sikorsky-70B helicopters is being examined for the first over Rs 2,000 crore contract of 16 MRHs. "For the second contract for 75 MRH, the initial proposals of five aviation majors are being studied," said an official.

Well Thats interesting
So Navy has finally got the sense that It does not require LUH like the Army and Air force simply Becoz Navy Helis are not required to fly at 6500 m and having a fleet of 90 MultiRole Helicopters with both ASW and SAR capability is better than Having a fleet of 60 ASW and 57 LUH as Navy was previously Planning

If you guys think about it , then Having 90 MRH to replace our present fleet of 46 ASW and 51 LUH , is not a Bad Idea
and frankly i would not mind either the European NH-90 or the American Sikorsky-70B helicopters in service , if we can get either one of them in service before we start retiring our SeaKing and Alloutte fleet

 

[Nirvana]

I wish this Comes with Desert Camo colour Scheme...Since the First batch will be Deployed On western Border [Punjab Region]

 

[Varad]

Wow. Armed forces are having a gala time over the chopper front. Good decision. Hope to get the 22 Apache soon

 

[Tshering22]

i think its time we ask for local production

Bad idea, bhai. HAL, NAL and whatever laboratories come under the GOI, are already stretched to the limit. Dhruv, LCH, LOH, Tejas (MK1 & 2), MRCA, AMCA, FGFA and MRTA AND not to mention MKI manufacturing. They are already having neck deep work. Looking at the poor infrastructure, lack of manpower resources and snail-pace work, if the new Mils are also given to them, we will be getting all these projects after 30 years.

Let the Russians make it. At least we will have it in this decade.