Army gets first Indian make attack helicopter Rudra

The first ndigenously-developed weaponised helicopter ‘Rudra’ was on Friday handed over to the Army which has successfully raised an attack chopper fleet on its own.

This is the first of the 60 armed helicopters provided to the Army by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) after the Defence Ministry handed over the control of all attack helicopters to the land force.

‘This is a very important system for us as it will be the first platform (of choppers) which is weaponised. In any battle, fire (power) and manoeuvrability should be closely integrated to support ground operations and provide immediate help if and when required. This (Rudra) will help us to get that capability,’ Army Deputy Chief Lt Gen Narendra Singh said.

‘The first squadron of the helicopters would be operationalised soon. We will have 60 choppers and one squadron will have 10 of them,” Army Aviation Corps’ Maj Gen P K Bharali said. He was talking on the sidelines of a function where HAL Chairman R K Tyagi officially handed over the chopper to the Army.