Good.
Not really, IA needs more Apaches over panjab, rajasthan fronts.
Prachand is still not mature yet.With all these orders, Modi ji has now walked the talk about 'self-reliance' and indigenisation. Hope we get export orders of Prachand too. That'll be like icing on the cake(sone pe suhaga)
Also in the north east and ladakh sector. More Apaches need to be procured. Atleast 80-100 apaches with longbows directing 300-400 prachands.
About more numbers, you need to consider the roles, Rudra, Rus attack heli and Apaches will share the attack duty against heavy armour, LCH will be support and mainly for high altitude duty. So our western flank is already covered. For first tranche order it is ok , will definitely get more in future with upgrades maybe. With a 500+ km combat radius it can both easily escort and strike deep inside Pak territory.
The points are valid though. We need more Apaches or equivalent HCHs to do heavy pounding against enemy armour.
Hopefully once Prachand matures, we may start our own heavy combat helicopter in future!
The opposite is also true, ie at the expense of a smaller fleet of Apaches , a bigger fleet of Rudra+LCH can be operated. This is solely from experience of IAF being always in disadvantage at the number game btw. Not a lot against Apaches or any other imported item.
Lets see what the forces go through, I expect the army aviation group to push through for the remaining numbers. After that, my preference is building up a local heavy gunship from IMRH class.
There is no plan to develop heavy class attack copter, or a copter based on imrh now.
Also IAF always had numerical superiority ove paf, what they lack was punch & technological & quality superiority.
LCH armed with 20 mm cannon, globally all were using 30 mm gun on copter to take down tanks.
IAF chief also agrees with you as he said recently that IAF won't import any attack helicopter after Prachand induction
Its not applicable to IA.IAF chief also agrees with you as he said recently that IAF won't import any attack helicopter after Prachand induction
Yeah, they still may go for more Apaches even after Prachand's induction. Let's wait and watch.
With now Ka-226T almost cancelled, expect huge orders for LUH in the coming years. Nothing to worry
I'm hoping for way more than they initially bargained for.
1 Apache squadron for each of the strike corps is necessary at the minimum (16+). The Chinese also have 1 squadron-equivalent per GA (16), but that will very likely climb to match the American one (72-96 Apaches per corps).
I guess we are planning on equipping each of our corps with 1 squadron each as well. That would mean 4 Apache and 10 LCH squadrons. So 64-72 Apaches and 160-180 LCHs. Very doable. LCH numbers have to double again, 14 squadrons more.
Don't think there's an IMRH-based attack helicopter, but a new generation design. But that's a decade later. The IA has to start operating the Apache and LCH before they make requirements for a next gen design. Stealth, high speed, long range, large payload etc. The Americans are working on one.
The Bell Valor won their Black Hawk replacement program, and my money is on it winning the attack helicopter requirement as well.
It has more range than Rafale and more payload than LCA, can carry an M777 slung underneath. So we can't just make another Apache.
At first, I found it weird when I heard it too. But it made sense a bit later, 'cause it's similar to Rudra instead of LCH.
It's simple really, the Valor is so fast and flies so far that only the Valor can protect the Valor.
A more traditional gunship design could come via FARA, a light gunship. So that's Bell 360 Invictus, Karem AR40 and Sikorky Raider X. That's basically their more modern LCH requirement.
In any case many Apaches will be operational until the 2060s, so it's not like the capability's disappeared. It just won't be able to support Valor missions.
There's apparently a more dedicated gunship design of the Valor. While the Army have not shown interest, the Marines have. They need something wit more firepower that can keep up with the Osprey. So if this goes ahead, the full Apache-replacement requirement could get fulfilled by the Valor CS 3, not just the initial Rudra-esque one in the pics above.
Well, you may be right. Personally, I was rooting for the Raider X and now the Invictus to replace the Apache. I'm thinking the choice of Valor as a Blackhawk replacement gives us a good idea of the kind of terrain the US military expects to operate in, in the future. No more urban combat maybe.At first, I found it weird when I heard it too. But it made sense a bit later, 'cause it's similar to Rudra instead of LCH.
It's simple really, the Valor is so fast and flies so far that only the Valor can protect the Valor.
A more traditional gunship design could come via FARA, a light gunship. So that's Bell 360 Invictus, Karem AR40 and Sikorky Raider X. That's basically their more modern LCH requirement.
In any case many Apaches will be operational until the 2060s, so it's not like the capability's disappeared. It just won't be able to support Valor missions.
There's apparently a more dedicated gunship design of the Valor. While the Army have not shown interest, the Marines have. They need something wit more firepower that can keep up with the Osprey. So if this goes ahead, the full Apache-replacement requirement could get fulfilled by the Valor CS 3, not just the initial Rudra-esque one in the pics above.
The Valor is suitable for urban combat. In fact more than Black Hawk because it's shorter and is far more stable.
Raider X and Invictus are quite light. For example, the S-97 has 1900 kW engines and weighs 5000 kg. So the Raider X could at best be 6T with its 2200 kW engine. And it's single engined, a more dedicated attack chopper would need 2 engines with the same power.
LCH uses 2 1032 kW engines.