Indian Army Inducts First Batch Of Apache Helicopters

In a significant boost to its operational capabilities, the Indian Army on Tuesday received the first batch of Apache helicopters into its Aviation fleet.

The Indian Army in a social media post termed the induction a “milestone moment” for the Indian Army, stating that the arrival of the state-of-the-art platforms would “bolster the operational capabilities of the Indian Army significantly.”

“Indian Army inducts #Apache Milestone moment for Indian Army as the first batch of Apache helicopters for Army Aviation arrive today in India. These state-of-the-art platforms will bolster the operational capabilities of the #IndianArmy significantly,” the post said.

This consignment of Apache helicopters arrived at Hindon Airbase.

Notably, the Indian Air Force already operates a fleet of 22 Apache helicopters, which have been deployed in Ladakh and western sectors.

The helicopter is capable of delivering variety of weapons which include air to ground Hellfire missiles, 70 mm Hydra rockets and air to air Stinger missiles. Apache also carries one 30 mm chain gun with 1200 rounds as part of area weapon sub system. To add to the lethality of the helicopter, it carries fire control radar, which has a 360° coverage and nose mounted sensor suite for target acquisition and night vision systems.

The AH-64E is the most modern configuration of the Apache and is ready for the MDO battlefield. A network-centric, fully integrated weapon system specifically built to dominate in highly contested and complex battle space, the AH-64E Version 6, or v6, Apache includes multiple enhancements to the aircraft’s sensors, software and weapons performance.

Designed for interoperability within the Multi-Domain Operations (MDO) ecosystem AH-64E v6 is a lethal, survivable and agile system providing the reach, maneuverability and performance needed by ground forces and contributes to current and future joint mission success.

By providing and integrating advanced capabilities through a layered effect of on board and off board sensors, stand-off long range weapons and the connectivity required to use all the tools the ecosystem can bring, AH-64E v6 is a fully integrated, optimized for battle attack helicopter that is truly in a class by itself. (ANI)