The Army Aviation Corps (AAC) is an arm of the

Indian Army The Indian Army is the land-based branch and the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head is the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), who is a four- ...

which was formed on 1 November 1986. The corps is headed by a director general (with the rank of

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

) at army headquarters in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House, ...

History

The origin of Army Aviation Corps can be traced back to Army Aviation Wing of the

Royal Indian Air Force The Royal Indian Air Force (RIAF) was the aerial force of British India and later the Dominion of India. Along with the Indian Army, and Royal Indian Navy, it was one of the Armed Forces of British Indian Empire. The Indian Air Force was offi ...

in 1942 and subsequent formation of Indian Air Observation Post in August 1947. During

Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 or the Second Kashmir War was a culmination of skirmishes that took place between April 1965 and September 1965 between Pakistan and India. The conflict began following Pakistan's Operation Gibraltar, which was d ...

and

Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a military confrontation between India and Pakistan that occurred during the Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan from 3 December 1971 until the Pakistani capitulation in Dhaka on 16 Decemb ...

, helicopters of Air Observation Post played vital role by flying close to enemy lines to help ground assets spot targets. In 1984, the Indian Army's Northern Command inducted the

HAL Cheetah HAL may refer to: Aviation * Halali Airport (IATA airport code: HAL) Halali, Oshikoto, Namibia * Hawaiian Airlines (ICAO airline code: HAL) * HAL Airport, Bangalore, India * Hindustan Aeronautics Limited an Indian aerospace manufacturer of fight ...

during the Siachen Glacier conflict and participated in

Operation Meghdoot Operation Meghdoot ( "Operation Cloud Messenger" after a famous Sanskrit poem by Kalidasa) was the codename for the Indian Armed Forces' operation to seize control of the Siachen Glacier in Kashmir, precipitating the Siachen conflict. Execu ...

. Two years later, the

Indian Air Force The Indian Air Force (IAF) is the air arm of the Indian Armed Forces. Its complement of personnel and aircraft assets ranks third amongst the air forces of the world. Its primary mission is to secure Indian airspace and to conduct aerial w ...

Air Observation Post Air Observation Post (AOP) is an aeroplane or helicopter used in the role of artillery spotter by the British Army and Commonwealth forces. In this role, either the pilot of the aircraft or another crew member acts as an observer watching for ta ...

units were transferred to the Indian Army to form its Army Aviation Corps. With nine helicopter squadrons, the corps supported ground units by carrying men and material to the

Siachen Glacier The Siachen Glacier is a glacier located in the eastern Karakoram range in the Himalayas at about , just northeast of the point NJ9842 where the Line of Control between India and Pakistan ends. At long, it is the longest glacier in the Kara ...

until the 2003 ceasefire. During the late-1980s

Indian intervention in the Sri Lankan Civil War The Indian intervention in the Sri Lankan Civil War was the deployment of the Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka intended to perform a peacekeeping role. The deployment followed the Indo-Sri Lankan Accord between India and Sri Lanka of 198 ...

, the corps experienced jungle warfare during

Operation Pawan Operation Pawan ( hi, कार्यवाही पवन ''Kãryvãhi Pavan'', lit. "Operation Wind") was the code name assigned to the operation by the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) to take control of Jaffna from the Liberation Tigers of ...

. A unit of the Army Aviation Corps operated in

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

as part of

United Nations Operation in Somalia II United Nations Operation in Somalia II (UNOSOM II) was the second phase of the United Nations intervention in Somalia and took place from March 1993 until March 1995, following the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991. UNOSOM II carried on ...

from October 1993 to November 1994. During the operation, the corps flew over 2,000 hours accident-free with 100-percent serviceability in desert-like conditions. It also participated in the 1999

Kargil War The Kargil War, also known as the Kargil conflict, was fought between India and Pakistan from May to July 1999 in the Kargil district of Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere along the Line of Control (LoC). In India, the conflict is also referre ...

during Operation Vijay carried out 2500 missions with 2700 hrs of operational flying evacuating 900 casualties from temporary and makeshift helipads. During 2015 Indian counter-insurgency operation in Myanmar, Army Aviation Corps transported 21 PARA (SF) for Operation Hot Pursuit.

Present day

Role

Army Aviation Corps pilots are drawn from other combat arms, including artillery officers. The

flies

attack helicopter An attack helicopter is an armed helicopter with the primary role of an attack aircraft, with the offensive capability of engaging ground targets such as enemy infantry, military vehicles and fortifications. Due to their heavy armament they ...

s such as the Mil Mi-24/Mi-35 and

HAL Rudra The HAL Rudra, also known as ALH-WSI, is an armed version of the HAL Dhruv utility helicopter which is designed and produced by the Indian aerospace manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The Rudra was developed in parallel to the HA ...

, which are under the operational control of the army. Helicopters such as the

HAL Chetak HAL may refer to: Aviation * Halali Airport (IATA airport code: HAL) Halali, Oshikoto, Namibia * Hawaiian Airlines (ICAO airline code: HAL) * HAL Airport, Bangalore, India * Hindustan Aeronautics Limited an Indian aerospace manufacturer of fight ...

and

HAL Dhruv The HAL Dhruv is a utility helicopter designed and developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in November 1984. The helicopter first flew in 1992; however, its development was prolonged due to multiple factors including the Indian Army's ...

provide logistical support for the Indian Army in remote and inaccessible areas. The Army Aviation Corps also perform

combat search and rescue Combat search and rescue (CSAR) are search and rescue operations that are carried out during war that are within or near combat zones. A CSAR mission may be carried out by a task force of helicopters, ground-attack aircraft, aerial refueling t ...

(CSAR), artillery lift, combat transportation, logistics relief, military prisoner transportation and

medical evacuation Medical evacuation, often shortened to medevac or medivac, is the timely and efficient movement and en route care provided by medical personnel to wounded being evacuated from a battlefield, to injured patients being evacuated from the scene of a ...

(MEDEVAC) in wartime and during natural disasters. The director general of the Army Aviation Corps is Lt Gen A.K. Suri.

Training

Army Aviation Corps candidates are trained at the Combat Army Aviation Training School (CATS) in

Nashik Nashik (, Marathi: aːʃik, also called as Nasik ) is a city in the northern region of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Situated on the banks of river Godavari, Nashik is the third largest city in Maharashtra, after Mumbai and Pune. Nashik ...

; training was previously conducted at the School of Artillery in

Deolali Deolali, or Devlali (), is a small hill station and a census town in Nashik district of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Now it is part of Nashik Metropolitan Region. Deolali has an important army base. Deolali Camp, one of the oldest Indian m ...

. A Cheetah helicopter simulator was installed at CATS to reduce training costs and pilot risk. The simulator exposes trainees to snow, rain, varied terrain, night flying, emergencies, and tactical maneuvers.

Organization

The Army Aviation Corps has several squadrons. Among them are: * 201 Army Aviation Squadron "Night Raiders" (Dhruv Utility Helicopters) * 202 Army Aviation Squadron "Soaring Gideons" (Dhruv Utility Helicopters) * 203 Army Aviation Squadron "Ladakh Leviathans" (Dhruv Utility Helicopters) * 204 Army Aviation Squadron "Soldiers of the Sky" (Dhruv Utility Helicopters) * 206 Army Aviation Squadron "Hornbills" (Dhruv Utility Helicopters) * 207 Army Aviation Squadron "Magnificent 7" (Dhruv Utility Helicopters) * 251 Army Aviation Squadron (Rudra ALH-WSI Helicopters) * 252 Army Aviation Squadron (Rudra ALH-WSI Helicopters) * 257 Army Aviation Squadron "The Destroyers" (Rudra ALH-WSI Helicopters) * 301 Army Aviation Squadron - Special Operations (Dhruv Utility and Rudra ALH-WSI Helicopters) * 351 Army Aviation Squadron (Prachand Light Combat Helicopters) * 659 Army Aviation Squadron (Chetak and Cheetah Utility Helicopters) * 660 Army Aviation Squadron (Chetak and Cheetah Utility Helicopters) * 661 Army Aviation Squadron (Cheetah Utility Helicopters) * 662 Army Aviation Squadron * 663 Army Aviation Squadron "Snow Leopards" (Cheetah, Chetak and Dhruv Utility Helicopters) * 664 Army Aviation Squadron (Chetak and Cheetah Utility Helicopters) * 665 Army Aviation Squadron "Daring Hawks" (Cheetah, Chetak and Dhruv Utility Helicopters) * 666 Army Aviation Squadron "Siachen Saviours" (Cheetah and Dhruv Utility Helicopters) * 668 Army Aviation Squadron "Desert Chetaks" (Chetak Utility Helicopters) * 667 Army Aviation Squadron "Eastern Hawks" (Dhruv Utility Helicopters) * 669 Army Aviation Squadron "Desert Hawks" (Cheetah / Lancer and Rudra ALH-WSI Helicopters) * 670 Army Aviation Squadron "Blazing Falcons" (Cheetah and Dhruv Utility Helicopters) On 1 June, 2022, an attack squadron composed of Light Combat Helicopters was raised. A total of seven squadrons are planned with ten helicopters in each one In addition, there are several Reconnaissance and Observation (R&O) flights that operate independently and are not attached to any squadrons.

Aircraft

HAL Rudra partake in Gagan Strike exercise 2022 12

HAL Rudra firing rockets during Yudh Abhyas exercise

Plans

In 2012, the army was evaluating helicopters from

Kamov JSC Kamov (russian: Камов) is a Russian rotorcraft manufacturing company based in Lyubertsy, Russia. The Kamov Design Bureau ( design office prefix Ka) has more recently specialised in compact helicopters with coaxial rotors, suitable for n ...

Eurocopter Airbus Helicopters SAS (formerly Eurocopter Group) is the helicopter manufacturing division of Airbus. It is the largest in the industry in terms of revenues and turbine helicopter deliveries. Its head office is located at Marseille Provence A ...

and

AgustaWestland AgustaWestland was an Anglo-Italian helicopter design and manufacturing company, which was a wholly owned subsidiary of Finmeccanica (now known as Leonardo). It was formed in July 2000 as an Anglo-Italian multinational company, when Finmeccanica ...

for its light-helicopter contract for supplying troops stationed at high altitudes. The $750 million contract for the 197 helicopters intended to replace its 1970s Chetak and Cheetah helicopters for high-altitude surveillance and logistics. The successful bidder would provide 60 helicopters in operating condition; the remaining 137 aircraft would be produced by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The successful bidder was required to invest at least 30 percent of the contract in India. In December 2014, the Kamov Ka-226T was selected as a light utility helicopter to replace the Chetak and Cheetah while the

HAL Light Utility Helicopter The HAL Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) along with its derivative Light Observation Helicopter (LOH) was designed and developed by Rotary Wing Research and Design Center (RWR&DC) one of the R&D sections of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) fo ...

was developed. Kamov would build a production plant in India, and 197 helicopters would be purchased under the

Make in India Make in India is an initiative by the Government of India to create and encourage companies to develop, manufacture and assemble products made in India and incentivize dedicated investments into manufacturing. The policy approach was to creat ...

program. Of these 135 are earmarked for the Indian Army. However the deal was later dead by 2021. The Army was looking at the indigenous

and later placed order for it under limited series production. Other planned acquisitions are: *

Boeing AH-64 Apache The Boeing AH-64 Apache () is an American twin-turboshaft attack helicopter with a tailwheel-type landing gear arrangement and a tandem cockpit for a crew of two. It features a nose-mounted sensor suite for target acquisition and night visi ...

- In Feb 2020, The Indian Army Ordered 6 helicopters which is expected to be delivered in early 2023. * Reconnaissance and surveillance helicopters – The HAL Light Utility Helicopter will replace the fleet of

Cheetah The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large cat native to Africa and central Iran. It is the fastest land animal, estimated to be capable of running at with the fastest reliably recorded speeds being , and as such has evolved specialize ...

and

Chetak Chetak or Cetak is the name given in traditional literature to the horse ridden by Maharana Pratap at the Battle of Haldighati, fought on 18 June 1576 at Haldighati, in the Aravalli Mountains of Rajasthan, in western India. The story H ...

helicopters. The Indian Army requires 394 light helicopters, which the Defence Ministry decided to meet in two purchases. To meet immediate requirements, 197 light helicopters would be procured on the international market; Hindustan Aeronautics Limited would develop and manufacture 187 HAL Light Utility Helicopter, of which 126 would be for the

. *

General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper The General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper (sometimes called Predator B) is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight operations developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) primarily for the Uni ...

- Indian Army is Planning to buy 10 armed predator drones. *

References

External links

Army Aviation Corps(India)

{{Indian_Army_Arms_and_Services Administrative corps of the Indian Army Military units and formations established in 1986 Army aviation units and formations 1986 establishments in India