The Author is Former Director General of Information Systems and A Special Forces Veteran, Indian Army

According to media reports of October 13, 2024, the Indian Army is looking to hire helicopters from civil agencies to carry out a range of tasks like ferrying logistics supplies, carrying troops to forward locations and casualty evacuation. The plan reportedly is to deploy single-engine civil helicopters in specific sectors Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) and Ladakh, like Dras, Kargil, Batalik, Doda, Kishtwar and Gurez. Barring the specific sectors, the helicopters will be mostly deployed during the winters (from November to April) for stocking of ration, fuel, other stores and operational purposes.

Bids have been invited from potential service providers for details of helicopters available for the purpose, including their rate per flying hour and additional flying hours. According to officials, this is a rare instance when the Army will hire civil for winter stocking, carrying out logistics work and supplies and other operational purposes. The media reports further state that there are plans for the Armed Forces to increasingly move towards outsourcing of major platforms and equipment instead of buying them, which need massive capital expenditure.

This is the first time civil helicopters will be permitted to operate at strategic forward positions along borders with China and Pakistan, a move that raises security concerns

The contract, executed for a period of one year, will ensure that 16 remote posts in the Jammu region are sustained throughout the year, while another 28 posts in Kashmir and Ladakh will benefit from this support for 150 days next year. The civil helicopters, provided under the contract, will operate from seven mounting bases in Ladakh, two in Kashmir, and one in the Jammu region, covering a total of 44 posts.

The hiring of civil helicopters will be done under the Delegation of Financial Powers to Defence Services (DFPDS-2021). The contract terms specify that the civil aviation service provider will manage the entire load-carrying effort required to sustain these winter cut-off posts. The helicopters will ferry food, fuel, medical supplies, and other essential items, ensuring that these high-altitude positions remain fully operational and well-supplied during winter. This initiative is considered a decisive shift in how the Indian Army maintains its critical positions in high-altitude regions during the harsh winter months, when these areas are otherwise inaccessible due to snow.

The ageing Chetak and Cheetah helicopter fleet faces significant serviceability challenges, with many nearing the end of their Total Technical Life (TTL), prompting the Army to phase them out starting in 2027

It is being said that this contract is designed to provide helicopter support to the Army's winter cut-off posts along the Northern and Western borders, and that it exemplifies India's commitment to civil-military fusion and leverage the 'Gati Shakti' initiative, while acknowledging that the civil helicopters will be used to fill in for the ageing Chetak and Cheetah fleet with the Army, which continue to face serviceability issues due to their long, extended years of service and the fact that many of them will begin completing their total technical life in the next three years. The media has quoted an unnamed official who said, "Apart from serviceability issues of the Cheetah fleet, big helicopters cannot land in several high-altitude forward locations due to lack of large helipads, and these smaller choppers will be able to perform a variety of roles, particularly in the transportation of all things for sustenance in the forward locations."

It is also being said that the use of civil aviation in border regions opens up new opportunities for tourism and local economic development. But this is for the first time that civil helicopters will be permitted to operate at the strategic forward positions along the borders with China and Pakistan that were so far out of bounds for civilians. Why the Army did not permit this earlier was not without valid reasons; most prominent being security. Winter vacated and winter cut off posts in high altitude areas are prime targets for the enemy; for capture by well-trained troops in high-altitude warfare. One such Pakistani post in the Kargil Sector was captured by our troops in 2004. At the same time, a post of ours in Central Glacier established in 1984 and vacated in winter was occupied by Pakistani troops in the thick of winter and remains so. Permitting civilian helicopters to hover over and land on sensitive forward posts entails avoidable security risks, even though we may gloss over it under the garb of civil-military fusion, Gati Shakti and the like.

The indigenous Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) programme, approved in 2009, has faced delays, with the Army currently negotiating a deal for 110 units out of its total requirement of 225

Why then has the Army taken this unprecedented step? Was the compulsion the small number of helicopters in backdrop of the standoff with China along the 4,057-km Line of Actual Control (LAC) entering the fifth year with no sign of possible pullback? There is shortage of Chetak/Cheetah helicopters in the Army and the Indian Air Force, these helicopters are also being used for civil tasks (disaster relief, rescue missions, even assisting the power grid corporation, and the Army plans to start phasing out the Cheetah/Chetak helicopters commencing 2027.

The Army currently has 190 Cheetah, Chetak and Cheetal helicopters out of the original 246. Of these, at any time around 25 of them are at the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for maintenance, which is a deficiency of around 37 in this category of helicopters. Also, around 134 of these helicopters are about 30 to 50 years old and are nearing the end of its Total Technical Life (TTL). These helicopters are to be replaced by the indigenous Light Utility Helicopter (LUH), which was proposed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and approved by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in 2009. Why was the production of LUH and its induction into the Indian Army in adequate numbers inordinately delayed? In September 2024, a media report confirmed that the Army has a requirement of 225 units of LUH and a deal of 110 units is in the cost negotiation stage.

While the current contract covers the Northern Command, there are plans to expand this model to other strategic regions, including Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and the North-East

According to the media, while the instant contract currently covers the Northern Command, plans are in motion to expand the model to other strategic regions, including Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and the North-East, bringing the same logistical efficiency and developmental potential to these high-altitude regions, which remain critical to India's national security framework.

The Army had to take this step to preserve its depleted number of helicopters for more critical operational missions. Hope this works without compromising security of the sensitive forward posts. Luckily there is no cross-border firing on helicopters, as was happening in the Siachen area in the past. However, flying conditions in mountains and especially in high-altitude areas (HAA) is difficult. Even experienced Army and IAF pilots have found flying conditions in Arunachal and Siachen very challenging. In just over five years before 2023, 55 lives were lost in 50 military aviation accidents.