Arunachal Crash

Arunachal Crash: May Day Call To Be Army’s Focus; 4 Bodies Retrieved

A court of inquiry constituted to probe the October 21 crash of the army helicopter, with five personnel onboard, in Arunachal Pradesh will focus on the ‘May Day’ call received by Air Traffic Control (ATC) suggesting a technical or mechanical failure on the chopper, officials said.

An Indian Army Aviation Advance Light Helicopter (Weapon Systems Integrated) – ALH WSI based at Likabali (Assam) crashed at general area Migging (South of Tuting in Arunachal Pradesh) at 1043 am on October 21. The chopper had taken off from Likabali in the Lower Siang district.
Immediate joint search operations with teams from the Army and Air Force located the crash site, where the terrain is extremely challenging in terms of hills with steep gradients and thick jungle.

“Four mortal remains have been retrieved by late evening of 21 October 2022. As per latest reports, efforts are on to retrieve the fifth mortal remains,” according to an update provided by Public Relations Officer (Defence) Guwahati on Saturday.

The PRO in a statement said that the pilots had more than 600 combined flying hours on the Advance Light Helicopter (Weapon Systems Integrated) and over 1800 service flying hours between them.

“Prior to the crash, the Air Traffic Control (ATC) had received a MAYDAY call suggesting a technical or mechanical failure,” the release said. “This will form the focus of the Court of Inquiry, which has been immediately constituted to investigate the causes of the accident,” it read.

Earlier on October 5 this year, an Indian Army pilot lost his life in a Cheetah helicopter crash near the Tawang area of Arunachal Pradesh.

“The Cheetah helicopter flying in forward areas near Tawang crashed at around 10:00 AM during a routine sortie. Both the pilots were evacuated to the nearest Military Hospital,” Army officials had said. (ANI)

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Z+ Security CDS Anil Chauhan

Z+ Security To CDS Anil Chauhan

The Centre has provided the ‘Z+’ category armed security cover of Delhi Police to the newly elected Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan, sources said on Monday.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) issued the order to the Delhi Police days after Chauhan took charge as India’s new Chief of Defence Staff, more than nine months after the death of General Bipin Rawat, the country’s first CDS.
General Chauhan took charge as India’s second CDS last Friday.

Nearly 58 armed Delhi Police personnel will be guarding Chauhan at his residence as well as during travel.

He is also the Principal Military Advisor to the Defence Minister on all tri-Service matters as well as head of the Department of Military Affairs as Secretary.

He is also the Permanent Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC).

While taking charge, General Chauhan had said he was proud to be assuming the responsibility of the highest rank in the Indian armed forces.

For the first time, a three-star officer has been brought back from retirement to hold a four-star rank.

Born on May 18, 1961, General Chauhan was commissioned into the 11 Gorkha Rifles of the Indian Army in 1981. The three chiefs, General Manoj Pande, Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari and Admiral R Hari Kumar, were commissioned into their respective services later.

In a career spanning nearly 40 years, General Chauhan held several command, staff and instrumental appointments and had extensive experience in counter-insurgency operations in Jammu and Kashmir and northeast India.

He is an alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Khadakwasla and Indian Military Academy, Dehradun.

General Chauhan has the mandate to implement the ambitious theaterisation plan that seeks to ensure tri-services synergy and prepare the military for future security challenges by rolling out integrated military commands.

Later, as Lt General, he commanded a corps in the North East and subsequently went to become the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Eastern Command from September 2019 and held the charge until his retirement from the service in May 2021.

In addition to these command appointments, the officer also tenanted important staff appointments, including the charge of the Director General of Military Operations.

Earlier, the officer had also served on a United Nations mission to Angola. He superannuated from the Indian Army on 31 May 2021.

Even after his retirement from the Army, he continued to contribute to national security and strategic matters.

The CDS is the most senior uniformed officer in rank, the first among equals — the only four-star officers in the country are the CDS, the chiefs of the Indian Army, Indian Navy and Indian Air Force. (ANI)

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Light Combat Helicopter

Made-in-India Light Combat Helicopters Prachand Inducted Into IAF

The first batch of indigenously-developed Light Combat Helicopters (LCH) named ” Prachand” was inducted into the Indian Air Force on Monday in the presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
The induction ceremony was held in Rajasthan’s Jodhpur, where the newly appointed Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Anil Chauhan was also present, along with the Union Minister.

While speaking on the occasion, Singh said that LCH will enhance our capability and will boost defence production and it proves India’s commitment towards self-reliance in Defence production.

“There could not have been a better timing for LCH induction than Navratri and in the land of warriors, Rajasthan,” Singh said, adding that the LCH is a result of research and development for two decades.

“For a long time, there was a need for attack helicopters and during the 1999 Kargil war, its need was felt seriously. The LCH is a result of research and development for two decades and its induction into IAF is an important milestone in defence production,” Singh further said.

The new chopper getting inducted into the force is capable of aerial combat and will help the force combat slow-moving aircraft, drones and armoured columns during conflicts. The induction ceremony will be led by Rajnath Singh who has played a crucial role in progressing cases for buying indigenous platforms for forces.

He was also present in the Cabinet Committee on Security which cleared the purchase of 15 of these LCHs for the air force and the army.

Hailing the service of the Indian Air Force, Singh said that IAF has played an important role in the nation’s security whether it was internal threats or external war.

“IAF has always strengthened national security with their courage and bravery. The induction of indigenously developed LCH will increase the efficiency of IAF. It has always supported indigenously developed defence products like Marut, Light Combat Aircraft, Aakash Missile System, Advanced Light Helicopter and now LCH. It shows IAF’s trust towards indigenously design and development,” Rajnath Singh said.

Defence Minister also talked about the key feature of this made-in-India LCH and said it perfectly meets the needs of our armed forces.

“LCH is capable of dodging the enemy, carrying a variety of ammunition, and delivering it to the site quickly. LCH perfectly meets the needs of our armed forces in various terrains and it is an ideal platform for both our Army and Airforce,” he added.

Giving reference to the Ukraine-Russia war, Rajnath said, “The conflict or earlier conflicts teach us that heavy weapon systems and platforms, which are unable to move rapidly across the battlefield, have a low capability, and become easy targets for the enemy.”

He considered the defence of the nation as the top priority and said that the government is fully committed to it.

“I can say with full confidence that in the coming time, India will be first whenever there is talk of superpowers including military power in the world,” he said.

“For the nation’s security, it is the job of the government to ensure armed forces are equipped with the best equipment and platforms. Irrespective of the geopolitical scenario, it is their job to keep National security on alert. Against the backdrop of certain events in the past, the government has focused on indigenisation in defence production and preparedness. They are getting positive responses from services, research and development, start-ups, and public and private sector industries. All are coming together to give a new height to defence production,” Singh further said.

“Time requires to shift towards such equipment and platforms that could are easy to move, more flexible and also more lethal. I like to appreciate HAL engineers for putting all these features in LCH. And don’t get confused with the ‘Light’ word associated with it but the task it will deliver is ‘heavy’,” he said.

The light combat helicopter is a dedicated combat helicopter designed and developed indigenously in India. It has been manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

Of the 15 limited series production helicopters approved, 10 are for the IAF and five for the army. It can land and take off from an altitude of 5,000 metres with weapons and fuel, the officials said.

The choppers have been flown extensively in Ladakh and the desert sector to meet the requirements of the armed forces. The IAF has inducted multiple helicopters to its fleet in the last three-four years with the induction of the Chinooks, Apache attack helicopters and now the LCHs.

CCS met under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 30, 2022, in New Delhi. The CCS has approved the procurement of 15 Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) Limited Series Production at the cost of Rs. 3,887 Cr along with Infrastructure sanctions worth Rs 377 crore.

Light Combat Helicopter Limited Series Production (LSP) is an indigenously designed, developed and manufactured state-of-the-art modern combat helicopter containing approximately 45 per cent indigenous content by value which will progressively increase to more than 55 per cent for the SP Version.

“This helicopter is equipped with the requisite agility, manoeuvrability, extended range, high altitude performance and around-the-clock, all-weather combat capability to perform roles of Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR), Destruction of Enemy Air Defence (DEAD), Counter Insurgency (CI) operations against slow-moving aircraft and Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPAs), high altitude bunker busting operations, counter-insurgency operations in the jungle and urban environments, and support to ground forces and would be a potent platform to meet the operational requirements of the Indian Air Force and Indian Army,” said the Ministry of Defence. (ANI)

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