New Delhi: A brand new Apache attack helicopter of the Indian Air Force (IAF) Thursday made an emergency landing in a field an hour after taking off from its base in Punjab’s Pathankot.
This is the first such incident involving the choppers that were procured in an approximately $2-billion-deal from the US.
The IAF in a statement said all crew onboard the helicopter are safe and there had been no damage to any property.
It added that the helicopter, after approximately one hour of flying, had indications of a critical failure and carried out a safe landing west of Indora, Punjab. The captain of the aircraft took correct and prompt actions to recover the helicopter safely. The aircraft will be recovered after necessary rectification, the IAF said.
The IAF is likely to order a Court of Inquiry into the incident.
The Apache landing comes within 24 hours of a Cheetah helicopter, the IAF”s oldest helicopter, also making an emergency landing.
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The Apache deal
The Apache AH 64E, an out-and-out attack helicopter, was inducted into the IAF in September last year following a deal signed by the Narendra Modi government in 2015.
India had ordered for 22 Apaches in a contract valued at Rs 14,910 crore and the deliveries were completed this year. Earlier this year, the Army ordered for six more Apache helicopters.
Equipped with an AN/APG-78 Longbow fire control radar system, the iconic choppers have a deadly reputation for being able to sneak up on targets, carry out devastating precision attacks at stand-off ranges and to operate in hostile airspace with threats from the ground.
India has been operating the Russian Mi-35s, which are on the verge of retirement. However, these are classified as ‘assault’ choppers and not pure attack choppers.
This is because the Mi-35s were designed to carry troops into heavily-defended territories. But the Apache is an attack helicopter with both air-to-ground and air-to-air capability.
The Apaches come with a 30mm cannon under the nose, which can fire 1,200 rounds in less than two minutes. Also equipped with 70mm guided or unguided rockets, the Apache can carry 80 of them in one go, besides Hellfire missiles.
The Indian Apaches also carry air-to-air Stinger missiles, which the IAF had specifically sought. Together with the avionics on board, these missiles can identify, track and hunt targets in the dead of night.
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