Apache and Chinook: Two roles in the air

The Indian Air Force inducted its first four Chinook heavy-lift helicopters at Chandigarh on 25 March 2019. At Pathankot that September, it formally inducted Apache attack helicopters, with eight already delivered. The two American-built aircraft filled different needs: moving loads to difficult locations and providing armed support to forces on the ground. [1] [2]

The Apache brought anti-tank missiles, rockets, a 30 mm gun and sensors for finding targets, including at night. Air Chief Marshal B.S. Dhanoa described it as a replacement for the Mi-35 fleet. The Chinook’s task was transport, with cargo-handling systems and the ability to carry military or civilian loads into remote areas. One acquisition concerned attack aviation; the other expanded heavy-lift capacity. [1] [2]

Selection before signature

The competitions predated the Modi government. In December 2012, defence minister A.K. Antony told Parliament that Boeing had emerged as the lowest bidder in the separate proposals for 15 heavy-lift and 22 attack helicopters. Final prices still depended on negotiations. Selection was already on record; the binding purchases came later. [3]

The contracts were signed on 28 September 2015. A subsequent parliamentary reply put the Apache contract cost at ₹13,951.57 crore and the Chinook cost at ₹8,047.85 crore. These were acquisitions concluded under Modi, following requirements and competitive work undertaken earlier by the services and defence ministry. [3] [4]

The 2016 reply expected both delivery programmes to finish in March 2020. Boeing’s July 2020 completion announcement recorded the last five Chinooks handed over in March and the final five Apaches in June. The contracted IAF totals—15 and 22 respectively—had therefore arrived, with Apache completion later than that earlier expectation. A separate order for six Army Apaches followed in 2020 and was outside these IAF totals. [4] [5]

Beyond the aircraft count

The CAG’s 2019 procurement audit raised questions about arrangements behind the purchase. It criticised the decision to forgo Apache maintenance technology transfer and said a long-term maintenance agreement should have accompanied the main contract. The IAF had considered transfer uneconomic for a small fleet; the ministry also pointed to maintenance based on aircraft condition rather than scheduled depot servicing. The audit separately found that Army representatives had not participated in Chinook field trials, despite the Army’s transport needs. [6]

Indian factories nevertheless had a role in the supply chain. Boeing’s 2020 account identified Tata Boeing Aerospace’s Hyderabad operation as a producer of Apache aerostructures for international customers. Tata Advanced Systems and Dynamatic Technologies supplied Chinook assemblies. This was component production within Boeing’s global programmes; the acquired helicopters remained imported aircraft. [5]

A later Chinook mission illustrated a use beyond military transport. On 23 June 2024, an IAF helicopter released ISRO’s winged Pushpak vehicle at an altitude of 4.5 kilometres over the Chitradurga test range. Pushpak corrected its approach and landed autonomously on the runway, completing the third experiment in ISRO’s reusable-vehicle landing series. [7]