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Endangered · 10-29-2005, 02:14 AM

Air Force choppers flex their wings

By Sachin Gogoi, Sarsawa (Uttar Pradesh), : Terrorist hideouts were blown off and paratroopers swooped down from the skies as eight chopper units of the Indian Air Force battled it out at the first helicopter aircrew competition here.

The four-day competition was organised to promote competitive spirit and professionalism amongst the helicopter aircrew. The intra command competition of the Western Air Command, named Ex-Chakravyuh 2005-06, concluded Thursday at the Sarsawa air force station here.

"This first ever helicopter aircrew competition was meant to check operational readiness and response of our helicopters and the aircrew. Such exercises would help improve the learning curve and perform better in the days to come," said Air Marshal A.K. Singh, air officer commanding-in-chief Western Air Command, after the concluding ceremony.

During the competition, eight helicopter units were put to gruelling tests in five categories - hovering, search and rescue, under-slung operations, low land navigation and spot paradropping.

While frontline attack helicopters were kept away from the competition, the event focused on surveillance and transport helicopters - the Chetak, Cheetah, MI-17 and MI-17 1V variants.

The newly inducted Dhruv advanced light helicopter (ALH) also displayed its agility and manoeuvrability.

The first squadron of this helicopter became operational earlier this month with the Western Air Command receiving six of these flying machines, developed at the Hindustan Aeronautic Limited (HAL) in Bangalore. The command is waiting for delivery of another four helicopters to complete the squadron.

"We have not included frontline attack helicopters here. The aim of this exercise was not to check the firepower of our helicopter units, but to see their effectiveness in other small scale operations that become crucial during wartime and situations like natural calamities," said Singh.

"However, we plan to include our attack helicopters in such exercises in the coming days. 'Ex-Chakravyuh' will provide a platform for that," he said.

The air marshal pointed out that helicopter units of the air force had played a major role in saving lives and providing the public all kinds of help during emergencies.

"Our helicopter units have proved to be the lifeline in many emergency situations in the recent past. We have done excellent work during the tsunami, floods in various parts of the country, and most recently the earthquake in Jammu and Kashmir. Many lives would have been lost, had we not reached those remote areas on time," said Singh.

10-29-2005, 02:14 AM	#13 (permalink)
Endangered is a *Senior Contributor* Join Date: 08-13-05 Location: Bangalore, India Posts: 1,747	Air Force choppers flex their wings Air Force choppers flex their wings By Sachin Gogoi, Sarsawa (Uttar Pradesh), : Terrorist hideouts were blown off and paratroopers swooped down from the skies as eight chopper units of the Indian Air Force battled it out at the first helicopter aircrew competition here. The four-day competition was organised to promote competitive spirit and professionalism amongst the helicopter aircrew. The intra command competition of the Western Air Command, named Ex-Chakravyuh 2005-06, concluded Thursday at the Sarsawa air force station here. "This first ever helicopter aircrew competition was meant to check operational readiness and response of our helicopters and the aircrew. Such exercises would help improve the learning curve and perform better in the days to come," said Air Marshal A.K. Singh, air officer commanding-in-chief Western Air Command, after the concluding ceremony. During the competition, eight helicopter units were put to gruelling tests in five categories - hovering, search and rescue, under-slung operations, low land navigation and spot paradropping. While frontline attack helicopters were kept away from the competition, the event focused on surveillance and transport helicopters - the Chetak, Cheetah, MI-17 and MI-17 1V variants. The newly inducted Dhruv advanced light helicopter (ALH) also displayed its agility and manoeuvrability. The first squadron of this helicopter became operational earlier this month with the Western Air Command receiving six of these flying machines, developed at the Hindustan Aeronautic Limited (HAL) in Bangalore. The command is waiting for delivery of another four helicopters to complete the squadron. "We have not included frontline attack helicopters here. The aim of this exercise was not to check the firepower of our helicopter units, but to see their effectiveness in other small scale operations that become crucial during wartime and situations like natural calamities," said Singh. "However, we plan to include our attack helicopters in such exercises in the coming days. 'Ex-Chakravyuh' will provide a platform for that," he said. The air marshal pointed out that helicopter units of the air force had played a major role in saving lives and providing the public all kinds of help during emergencies. "Our helicopter units have proved to be the lifeline in many emergency situations in the recent past. We have done excellent work during the tsunami, floods in various parts of the country, and most recently the earthquake in Jammu and Kashmir. Many lives would have been lost, had we not reached those remote areas on time," said Singh. __________________ Wild Wild Web