30 March, 2019: The first four Chinook CH-47F helicopters which were inducted by Air Chief Marshal B S Dhanoa to the Indian Air Force (IAF) will increase within a year to a fleet size of 15 choppers. The helicopters were purchased from the US firm Boeing for $1.5 billion. It will be almost most certainly be followed by an additional order.
Chinook can be used in war and in disaster relief missions in peacetime. It has a distinctive double rotor, one at each end of the helicopter. The current Chinook CH-47F resembles the CH-47A that first hauled cargo in the Vietnam War but today’s version is far more capable. It can lift 22,500 kg and its digital advanced flight control system (DAFCS) enables it to hover at a precise spot, such as with its cargo compartment opening onto the edge of a building’s roof, allowing people marooned on the roof due to floods or to clamber on board.
The newly delivered Chinook CH-47F will replace the Russian Mi-26 in the heavy lift class, the first helicopter category in which America has superseded Russia’s dominance in India. The Russian Mi-35s will also be retired after the introduction of Boeing’s Apache AH-64E attack helicopters. Russia’s Kamov-28s and Kamov-31s will be shut out from a third category if the Sikorsky MH-60 Romeo is selected as the Navy's new multi-role helicopter (NMRH).
The Chinook is one of Boeing’s biggest winners, with around 19 countries flying 900 Chinooks and more than half of those by the US military.