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Chinook Helicopter – India’s US-Origin Heavy-Lift Copter Gives Army Decisive Edge In Border Row With China – Aviation Brigade

India has deployed Chinook helicopters and howitzer guns along the tense Indo-Tibetan border region. The development comes in the wake of the failed India-China talks over the LAC standoff.

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The de facto border has seen several build-ups ever since the worst fighting in decades broke out last year and caused multiple casualties on both sides.

On October 19, South China Morning Post reported that the Chinese military had deployed over 100 advanced long-range rocket launchers along its high-altitude borders with India. This move had come after a round of border talks aimed at disengagement from the strategic area in the high-altitude Depsang Plains earlier this month failed.

The People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) move came in preparation for the intense Himalayan winter. It was also a response to the Indian Army deploying M777 ultra-light howitzers developed by BAE Systems along the contested LAC with its communist neighbor.

New Delhi had cleared a $750 million acquisition deal to procure 145 M777 howitzers from BAE Systems under the US government’s Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program, The Diplomate reported.

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“The PLA has deployed more than 100 PCL-181 light, truck-mounted howitzers along borders with India. The firing range of this Chinese-developed launcher is double that of the M777,” a Chinese military source claimed back then.

Less than a fortnight has passed since those reports. Now, there is yet another set of deployments from India’s side. The current build-up is positioned in India’s northeastern region and is centered on the Tawang Plateau in Arunachal Pradesh. This piece of land, controlled by India and claimed by China, adjoins both Bhutan and Tibet.




The PLA’s PCL-181 advanced vehicle-mounted howitzer. (via SCMP)

The 14th Dalai Lama fled to India to escape a Chinese military operation using nearby mountain passes in 1959. In 1962, both sides fought a war in this area. Undoubtedly, Tawang holds significance immense historical, political, and strategic value.

To dig its feet firmly into the ground here, the Indian Army has deployed US-made Chinook helicopters and light howitzers along with homegrown supersonic missiles.

Why Chinooks?

The EurAsian Times had previously reported that India had opted for the Chinook to enlarge its fleet of heavy-lift choppers. Prior to this, the country had relied on a small fleet of Russian-built Mi-26 heavy transport helicopters.

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There were multiple reasons for the Indian Air Force (IAF) choosing the CH-47 Chinook. The chopper was designed and developed by the US rotorcraft company Vertol and manufactured by Boeing Vertol. The latter has now come to be known as the Vertical Lift division of Boeing Defense, Space & Security.

The heavy-lift copter has a twin-engine, tandem-rotor design. It is capable of airlifting a variety of military and non-military loads into remote locations.

Chinooks have proved to be a great workhorse for the US involvement in Afghanistan, as such in mountainous terrain and at high altitude. With carrying capacity of 45 odd troops or about 11 tonnes of mixed inside and/or underslung load it can play a very important role in the insertion of troops, supply support for various tactical missions,” former IAF Vice Chief Air Marshal Bhushan Ghokhale (Retd) told the EurAsian Times.

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Indeed, Chinooks’ history of being used by the US Army as well as by the militaries of more than 19 countries around the world has accorded it with a certain reputation and political clout. The chopper not only possesses a fully-integrated glass cockpit for mission management, but it also has a digital advanced flight control system built to enhance aircrew safety.




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The Chinooks come with advanced cargo-handling capabilities which allow aircrews to quickly and conveniently shift from missions. Personnel onboard can change from moving cargo during missions to transporting people, vehicles, and other materials at hand.

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