The Hindu : Karnataka / Bangalore News : Army to acquire 197 helicopters

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Feb 08, 2005

Karnataka

Karnataka - Bangalore

Army to acquire 197 helicopters

By Rasheed Kappan

BANGALORE, FEB. 7. Indian Army is reportedly set to acquire 197 single-engine seven-seat light helicopters to replace the aging Cheetahs.

Helicopter majors, Bell Helicopter Textron Inc. and Eurocopter, are locked in a tussle to grab this deal, showcasing the capabilities of their Bell 407 and the Eurocopter AS 350 B-3.

Bell from the U.S. had bid for the global tender floated by the army to acquire the helicopters for operational and logistic duties in high-altitude areas such as Kargil and Siachen.

The selection process is likely to be completed after Bell's summer trials. Recently, the aircraft had its winter trials in Siachen.

The same helicopter will be seen in action at Aero India 2005.

The helicopter will participate in both aerial and static displays besides undertaking customer flights at the Yelahanka Air Force Station, according to Bell.

"The Army is looking for direct purchase of 60 helicopters and 137 aircraft to be produced under license in India, apparently at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL)," Bell has said.

The Army's evaluation of the Bell helicopter has been in progress for the last one year.

It completed its high altitude trials in Bhatinda and Leh.

Features

Explaining the helicopter's unique features, its pilot Eric Emblin drew attention to the superior horsepower to weight ratio, payload at high altitudes and low maintenance in its class. The 2.4-tonne Bell 407 has flown up to a height of 25,000 feet. With a range of 300 nautical miles, it can land and take off even in high altitudes and mountain regions, flying at 140 knots an hour.

At present, over 630 helicopters are in operation worldwide. Incidentally, the U.S. Army has been looking at acquiring 350 helicopters from Bell.

Bell entered India in 1993-94, and since then the company has sold about 50 helicopters. These include the 206 and 212 models.

Bell said the demand from the country's civilian sector for its helicopters had picked up, particularly after the helicopters' role in the tsunami relief operations in Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. These State Governments had sent their executive class helicopters to assess the damage caused by the disaster. In the private sector, Deccan Aviation has bought eight helicopters from Bell while Pawan Hans operates six primarily for chartered flights and heli-tourism.

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