In 5 Days, Indian Air Force Welcomes 1st Batch Of Apache Attack Copters
By Shiv Aroor Jul 22 2019, 2 :15 pm
On July 27, four Boeing AH-64E Apache helicopters will arrive at the Hindon air force base on Delhi’s outskirts, followed by four more a few days later. The first arrivals, on an order for 22 of the type (11 of those, Longbows), the Apaches will be operated from the Hindon base for a few weeks until they shift to their new home at the IAF’s Pathankot base. When deliveries of all 22 are complete next year, the fleet will be split between Pathankot and Jorhat in the eastern sector. Both bases have received all requisite infrastructure for the new Apache flights.
IAF pilots will operate the Apaches from Hindon for the first few weeks before they’re permanently shifted to Pathankot. A commissioning ceremony will likely be in August or September. A ‘dedication’ event ahead of India’s Independence Day on August 15 could also be on the cards.
The 1st AH-64 handed over to the IAF at Mesa, Arizona in May
The first Made in India Apache fuselages rolled out from the Tata-Boeing joint venture in Hyderabad in 2018 for global customers. While the first fuselages for IAF Apaches have been supplied by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), later fuselages will come from the Hyderabad facility — the latter will soon become the sole global producer of fuselages for AH-64 Apache helicopters delivered by Boeing to its global customers including the U.S. Army. The facility will also produce secondary structures and vertical spar boxes for the multi-role combat helicopter.
The $1.4 billion Apache deal was signed in September 2015, with a follow-on order for 6 more being processed for the Indian Army. While the IAF and Army continue to grapple for command over attack helicopters, the overall requirement could be close to 50 helicopters over the next decade. Here’s a quick look at the AH-64E configured for the Indian Air Force, the type that it will begin receiving this week:
https://www.livefistdefence.com/201...comes-1st-batch-of-apache-attack-copters.html
By Shiv Aroor Jul 22 2019, 2 :15 pm
On July 27, four Boeing AH-64E Apache helicopters will arrive at the Hindon air force base on Delhi’s outskirts, followed by four more a few days later. The first arrivals, on an order for 22 of the type (11 of those, Longbows), the Apaches will be operated from the Hindon base for a few weeks until they shift to their new home at the IAF’s Pathankot base. When deliveries of all 22 are complete next year, the fleet will be split between Pathankot and Jorhat in the eastern sector. Both bases have received all requisite infrastructure for the new Apache flights.
IAF pilots will operate the Apaches from Hindon for the first few weeks before they’re permanently shifted to Pathankot. A commissioning ceremony will likely be in August or September. A ‘dedication’ event ahead of India’s Independence Day on August 15 could also be on the cards.
The 1st AH-64 handed over to the IAF at Mesa, Arizona in May
The first Made in India Apache fuselages rolled out from the Tata-Boeing joint venture in Hyderabad in 2018 for global customers. While the first fuselages for IAF Apaches have been supplied by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), later fuselages will come from the Hyderabad facility — the latter will soon become the sole global producer of fuselages for AH-64 Apache helicopters delivered by Boeing to its global customers including the U.S. Army. The facility will also produce secondary structures and vertical spar boxes for the multi-role combat helicopter.
The $1.4 billion Apache deal was signed in September 2015, with a follow-on order for 6 more being processed for the Indian Army. While the IAF and Army continue to grapple for command over attack helicopters, the overall requirement could be close to 50 helicopters over the next decade. Here’s a quick look at the AH-64E configured for the Indian Air Force, the type that it will begin receiving this week:
https://www.livefistdefence.com/201...comes-1st-batch-of-apache-attack-copters.html
How do attack copters like Bell AH-1Z Viper , ATAK -T129 , Chinese Z10 compare to this???
Are you kidding ?
All those helos that you named would have a hard time competing with the LCH.
The Apache is a heavy attack helo unlike every other helo mentioned.
Lol sorry but i am a layman so asked , i had seen some videos claiming BELL Viper to be the best attack helo
Nothing wrong with asking. Feel free to ask.
In which category ?
Light attack helos ? Then yes, the Viper is one of the best in the world.
Among all attack helos(light & heavy combined) ? Not even close to anywhere near the best.
No one machine can do it all. Think of it this way, both the Viper and the Apache are US made, so if Viper was the best attack helo across all categories, why do the Americans make/use the Apache ?
The reason the Viper is one of the best light attack helo is because its a matured product with an wide assortment of weaponry. There is a large industry backing it.
However its pretty ineffective for our use. Because the Viper can't fly as high as the HAL LCH. Remember the LCH landing in Leh, getting cold soaked at -20 deg. C and then starting up effectively in the morning ? These capabilities are needed for our mountain warfare divisions.
Give it time to mature and the LCH will prove its mettle.
Nice thanks for the explanation , your posts are always informative and knowledgeable sir
IAF need a few squadrons of these helicopters. And the IA will also get a few squadrons worth for the Strike Corps.
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How long would be the time taken to make helicopter s, when can we expect first SP fly ?
In any production line, the initial order takes time largely due to ab initio setting up infra, tooling, testing, integration etc facilities. But once the production starts speed picks up rapidly.
The initial production run is called the Limited Series Production(LSP), an order of 15 helos would be considered LSP. Expecct the first LSP helo to fly within the next two months or so. We will see SP only after the LSP orders are completed and the production line stabilises, assuming there will be future orders beyond the 15 here.
Its a guess, take it with a lump of salt. But then the order was place in March-April and HAL has been working on it since, also the LCH shares a lot of components with the Dhruv-ALH including the engines. In the previous page of this thread I posted about how the assembly jigs of LCH are ready.2 months?
2 more months would mean about 6 months from date of order. The 3 prototypes of LCH were built in around the same time. No reason why they can't do it now.
But then its HAL so there is that.
That is a BIG if, given our history of supporting local products, but still I hope there be further orders
Choppers are success story..
But very slow.. LUH flew long back, not sure it's status now.
In testing, there is going to be an update to the engine and the airframe.
It following the same pattern as that of the LCH.
Maiden flight of the 1st prototype(PT-1) was in September 2016
2nd prototype(PT-2) flew for the first time on 22 May 2017 with a modified tail boom.
Maiden flight of 3rd prototype(PT-3) on December 14, 2018
High altitude trials :
On December 10, 2018 LUH(PT-1) flew at six kilometers(19,700 feet) altitude in Bengaluru. The chopper was flown by chief test pilot Wg. Cdr. (Retd) Unni K Pillai and test pilot, Wing Cdr (Retd) Anil Bhambhani.
High altitude cold weather trials :
Took place in Leh in January-February 2019, two LUH(PT-1 and PT-2) was cold-soaked for 48 hours, before successfully starting engine and taking off.
After taking off from Leh, the LUH was landed in the Siachen glacier.
This makes it only the second helo in our possession that can land in Siachen. The other one is of course this one :
Photo : Courtesy 114 Helicopter unit(Siachen pioneers). HAL Cheetal(modified Aérospatiale SA 315B Lama) piloted by then Wg. Cdr. Manmohan Bahadur (retired as a Air Vice Marshal) of IAF lands in Siachen to evacuate an injured soldier.
The HAL LUH outdoes the Cheetah/Cheetal helos in every category. Payload, speed, flight ceiling, crew carried etc. you name it. It is also safer with the use of modern avionics.
We were supposed to have summer trials incoming in the summer of 2019. But nothing so far has been officially declared. There has been persistent rumors about the Army asking for some air-frame modifications to improve low speed maneuverability and also it seems HAL wants a more powerful engine.
The current prototypes run on a single HAL/Turbomeca Shakti 1U engines which is basically a de-rated version of the HAL/Turbomeca Shakti 1H engines that the HAL Dhruv uses. The 1U produces about 798 KW while the 1H produces 1068 KW. HAL it seems just wants to use the Dhruv's engine for LUH.
They also plan to replace the Shakti 1H with the more powerful HAL HTSE-1200.
Here's the spec sheet :
Some people say HAL intends to operationalise the LUH with the HTSE from the get go. Instead of the original plans to change engines after the helo enters service as a part of fleet upgradation for all HAL helos(ALH, LUH, LCH). However, the HTSE is now undergoing prototype bench tests and hasn't yet taken to the sky once.
Relying of a new unproven engine isn't just unsafe, it will also effect timelines of project completion. But these are just rumors, let's see what turn up.
Suffice it to say, we are doing far better of the helicopter domain than the fighter domain.
Don't know about that. Is the new Tumkur facility even operational ? I thought it was still being built.