Posted on 12/29/2010 11:58:19 PM PST by sukhoi-30mki
U.S. Congress Asked to Pre-Approve Apache Block III Sale to India
India is interested in buying 22 AH-64D Block III APACHE Helicopters from the USA. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency has notified Congress on a possible Foreign Military Sale of these helicopters, as part of a package worth about US$1.4 billion. The Indians are evaluating the Block III Apache among several other options for the Air Forces’ next generation attack helicopter. The Indians are also considering the Russian Mil-28N Havoc as an alternative replacement for the Indian Air Force’s Mi-25s. The domestically developed Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) is not an alternative for this program. The Eurocopter Tiger and AgustaWestland A129 Mangusta have been eliminated from the competition at an earlier stage.
Boeing has responded to an Indian Air Force Request for Proposal offering the Apache Block III. The Indian Air Force has already conducted field trials for these helicopters in July 2010. The testing has taken place in the Thar Desert in the northwest and will also happen near the Himalayan town of Ladakh in Indian-controlled Kashmir. Those sites represent the extremes the air force could find itself operating in. The Russian helicopter has not yet been cleared for testing in India. While India has not decided about the type of helicopters they will buy, Boeing and the Pentagon are requesting Congress approval in advance of a potential sale to prevent export limitation issues.
The package will include 12 AN/APG-78 Longbow Fire Control Radars, 12 AN/APR-48A Radar Frequency Interferometers, 812 AGM-114L-3 HELLFIRE LONGBOW missiles, 542 AGM-114R-3 HELLFIRE II missiles, 245 STINGER Block I-92H missiles, and 23 Modernized Target Acquisition Designation Sight/Pilot Night Vision Sensors, rockets.
I’m sure this will make the Chinese very happy
I’m sure it will make HAL even happier.
HAL has nothing to gain industrially by this contract.
I'm sure they would like a crack at a heavy attack helicopter as well, but now they won't get it.
Apples and Oranges. The LCH is a low-cost, light weight project to exploit commonality with the HAL Dhruv and is just not in the same class as the Apache.
About having a crack at the heavy copter, it’s a simple question of resources. Does HAL have the funds and technology for a clean sheet project at the moment. The IAF can get the Apache within 24 months if a contract is signed today. It would take about 5-7 years for a heavy copter to get into production. And that is not factoring in the delays which are mandatory to most Indian projects.
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