Fresh tenders for helicopters soon

The Army has been instructed to re-send its requirements for floating a new Request for Proposal (RFP) to aviation companies within one month. “The documents are ready and there shouldn’t be any delays. There are no changes from the last tender,” an Army official said.

There is a sense of urgency for modernising the Army’s helicopter fleet that mainly has the 1960s vintage Chetak and Cheetah helicopters — outdated machines that were to be replaced by the 197 new light helicopters.

The French origin helicopters — at the fag end of their service life — are currently being used to support troops posted at some of the most difficult terrains in the world, including the Siachen glacier. The choppers are used for dropping supplies, emergency evacuations, reconnaissance missions and transporting troops to difficult posts.

Since 1999, when the Army first asked for new machines, it has lost 11 of the French origin to accidents and crashes — mainly due to technical problems.

Last year, five Army officers were killed in Cheetah helicopter crashes in different parts of the country. In a crash this April, a Cheetah went down with its crew of two pilots at the Siachen glacier after its single engine suddenly lost power.

While strict action is likely to be initiated against erring officials who overlooked discrepancies during the trials, the fact remains that the Army will now need to wait for replacements while a fresh round of selection trials are carried out. Ironically, the Army’s own technical selection procedure — carried out by officers from the Army Aviation Corps — is to blame for the delay.