Opinion National Interest PoV 50-Word Edit

ThePrint On Camera Videos In Pictures

Society & Culture Around Town Book Excerpts Vigyapanti The Dating Story

More Judiciary Education YourTurn Work With Us Campus Voice

Opinion National Interest PoV 50-Word Edit

ThePrint On Camera Videos In Pictures

Society & Culture Around Town Book Excerpts Vigyapanti The Dating Story

More Judiciary Education YourTurn Work With Us Campus Voice

The Chetak & Cheetah fleet is ageing and dangerous. It’s high time to replace it

The failures to replace the fleet have left a massive capability gap, forcing the military to continue operating sub-optimal, high-risk assets in the world’s most hostile flying terrains.

The 20 May accident involving a Chital, a re-engined Cheetah helicopter, in Ladakh has once again brought to the forefront the long-standing issue of procuring a replacement for the ageing Chetak/Cheetah fleet. The Indian Armed Forces face a critical operational challenge in replacing their ageing fleet of these Light Helicopters.

For six decades, the vintage Aérospatiale Allouette-III and Lama, christened as Chetak and Cheetah helicopters, and licensed and manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) since the 1960s and 1970s, have been logistical lifelines for troops deployed in remote forward areas, including the Siachen Glacier.

The Chetak/Cheetah fleet has served the Armed Forces well for more than six decades. However, these airframes have long outlived their operational lifespans—suffering from high accident rates and maintenance fatigue. They were phased out in other Air Forces a long time ago.

The quest to modernise this fleet underscores a complex narrative of procurement delays, strategic policy shifts, and the evolving imperatives of indigenous defence manufacturing.

The procurement track record for India’s next-generation Light Helicopter has been characterised by repeated cancellations and procedural bottlenecks during the last three decades. It’s........

© ThePrint