Finally, India Clears $2.5-billion Apache & Chinook Deals

Years after the two major rotorcraft competitions ended with U.S. firm Boeing victories in both, the Indian government has finally cleared both deals. Livefist can confirm that the Cabinet Committee on Security, the apex government gateway just ahead of contract signature has provided its official go-ahead. The deals for 22 AH-64 Apache Block III and 15 CH-47F Chinook helicopters will be signed shortly. The long awaited go-ahead comes two days before Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi heads to the U.S on his second official visit in less than a year.

The deal will be a composite contract signed between the Indian MoD and Boeing & the U.S. Army. The Apache beat out the Russian Mi-28NE, while the Chinook defeated the Mi-26T. They won't be the first American-built choppers in Indian military service though -- the Indian Navy received six UH-3H Sea King choppers along with the erstwhile USS Trenton (now INS Jalashwa) in 2007. The first US-built chopper with the Indian armed forces was the Sikorsky S-55 in the fifties.

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