HAL Light Utility Helicopter pictured during a test flight. (Photo: Indian MoD)
India’s stop‑start quest for 200 light reconnaissance and surveillance helicopters (RSH) has resurfaced after 15 years.
The Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) has reissued a request for information (RfI) to replace around 270 of its ageing Chetak and Cheetah fleet crippled by unavailable rotables and a serviceability gap of nearly 37%, undermining the military’s high‑altitude readiness.
With frontline helicopters in high-altitude and border deployments long overdue for replacement, the Indian Army leased 20 light choppers last year to plug high-altitude gaps. During the short conflict with Pakistan, dubbed “Operation Sindoor”, vintage Chetaks and Cheetahs proved vital, rekindling the urgency for
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