MoD seeks 200 copters to replace ageing fleet

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is looking at getting 200 helicopters for the Army and the Indian Air Force, which will replace the six-decade-old Cheetah and Chetak copters.

The MoD on Friday issued a request for information (RFI) – the first step in the tendering process. The plan is to buy 120 of these reconnaissance and surveillance helicopters for the aviation corps of the Army while the remaining 80 for the IAF.

This RFI, allows helicopters manufacturers to partner with Indian companies and bid for the project, but the copter will need to be made in India.

The MoD aims to identify probable vendors, including an Indian company, that will form a joint venture with the original equipment manufacturer, that could be an Indian or a foreign company. A meeting with the vendors is scheduled in a month.

Crucially, the MoD has not restricted its search to single engine copters and is open to twin-engined ones too. The copters should be able to perform the following roles by day and night, do reconnaissance and surveillance, carry a small body of troops or quick reaction teams for special missions; carry internal and external loads in support of ground operations, do scouting duties in conjunction with attack helicopters.

Since the usage will be in extreme climates like the hot deserts or the perma-frost of Siachen, the MoD has asked for specific load carrying capacities when operating in Siachen or areas above 16,000 feet altitude. So far, the Army and IAF use the single-engine Cheetah and Chetak copters and also the twin-engined advanced light helicopters (ALH) in the mountains.

The Chetak is based on the French designed Aérospatiale Alouette III and was inducted in 1962 and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited began manufacturing them under licence in 1965. The Cheetah is derived from the Aérospatiale SA 315B Lama and entered service in 1976.

A demand to retire the ageing choppers has gained traction in recent years in the wake of a string of accidents, including several fatal ones.

Of the 246 Cheetah/Chetak helicopters, the Indian Army Aviation Corps currently operates around 190 choppers, of which nearly 30 are in maintenance. While the Army and the IAF together have a requirement of over 450 light helicopters, the Army will need around 250 of them.

The Army is also looking at buying 80 indigenous light utility helicopters from HAL, however, the delivery is delayed because of some technical issues with the aircraft’s autopilot system. The LUH completed the high-altitude trials in 2020 and received the initial operational clearance in 2021.