The Indian Air Force (IAF) acquired MI (Mikhail)-25 and MI 35 attack helicopters (AH) in 1983 primarily for providing intimate fire support to the Army’s Strike Corps. On November 1, 1986, the Army Aviation Corps (AAC) was created and the AH squadron placed under the command and control of the Army. As the AAC was in a nascent stage, an interim functional arrangement of dual control by the IAF and the Army was decided upon. This was but polite terminology, which was not really workable as the IAF considered itself as the holder of all military aircraft and was loath to share or surrender any of its “turf” to the Army. It took two and a half decades for this again, to put it politely, “sub optimal” arrangement to be reviewed and after detailed deliberation in the defence ministry and it was decided on October 10, 2012 that due that to major operational considerations of AHs needing to be an integral element of the “ground manoeuvre force”, they should also be with the Army.
While IAF is in the final stages of procuring 22 Apache AHs to raise third strike corps and to replace the ageing fleet in the existing units, for the Army, also granted “in principle approval” for raising three AHs Squadrons with 39 Apache AHs, there is no progress.
15/12/15 Anil Bhat/The Asian Age
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While IAF is in the final stages of procuring 22 Apache AHs to raise third strike corps and to replace the ageing fleet in the existing units, for the Army, also granted “in principle approval” for raising three AHs Squadrons with 39 Apache AHs, there is no progress.
15/12/15 Anil Bhat/The Asian Age
