The Army will start phasing out the first lot of the vintage Cheetah and Chetak helicopters from 2027 onwards on completion of their Total Technical Life (TTL) while it looks to induct the indigenous Light Utility Helicopters (LUH) in numbers to replace them, according to defence sources. The armed forces have been attempting to replace the Cheetah and Chetaks for well over a decade.
In November 2021, the Defence Acquisition Council approved the procurement of 12 Limited Series Production (LSP) variants of the LUH at a cost of around ₹1,500 crore, six each for the Army and the Indian Air Force (IAF), designed and developed by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) but has been delayed due to issues with the auto-pilot.
“The issue with the auto-pilot of the LUH has been addressed and the trials by the HAL have commenced. The six LSP LUH are expected to be delivered to the Army between December 2024 and June 2025. The bigger contract for LUH is expected to be concluded by January 2024 and deliveries expected to begin by 2026 onwards,” a defence source with knowledge of the matter said. In the interim, the Army is also looking to lease 20 utility helicopters to address the shortage.
The Army currently has 190 Cheetah, Chetak and Cheetal helicopters of the original 246. Of these, at anytime around 25 of them are at the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for maintenance, which is a deficiency of around 37% in this segment, the source noted. A bulk of the fleet, close to 130 of the 190, are between 30 and 50 years old.
Of the 190 Cheetah and Chetaks in service, around 134 helicopters or over 70% of them are over 30 years old, as reported by The Hindu earlier. In addition to the Army, the Navy and the IAF too operate these helicopters. For instance, the IAF has around 120 Cheetah and Chetak and around 18 of the more recent Cheetals.
The lifeline
The light helicopter fleet is the lifeline in transporting supplies and for evacuations in the high-altitude areas, including the Siachen glacier and the commitments on the northern borders have significantly gone up since the 2020 stand-off.
The Army also operates around 145 indigenous Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH), 75 of which are the Rudra weaponised variants and another 25 ALH Mk-III are on order. In July, the Army issued a Request for Information for leasing 20 Light Helicopters for reconnaissance and surveillance for a period of five years with the vendors asked to indicate the possibility of delivering all 20 helicopters within two years from the contract signing date.
In all, the Army and the IAF together have a requirement of over 400 helicopters of this class.
The LUH is a 3-ton class helicopter with glass cockpit for reconnaissance and surveillance roles and as a light transport helicopter. The helicopter will be capable of flying at 220 kmph, with a service ceiling of 6.5 km and a range of 350 km with 400 kg payload, according to the HAL.
The Army and the IAF began scouting for a LUH to replace the Cheetah and Chetak over a decade back and in 2015 the Defence Ministry decided to split the order into two, by procuring around 200 in partnership with a foreign OEM and another 200 to be supplied by the HAL by indigenous development. In line with this, India had entered into an inter-governmental agreement with Russia to manufacture 200 Ka-226T helicopters in India through a joint venture that has been stuck for a while and is now awaiting formal cancellation. Now the entire requirement will be met by the LUH.
