On october 19 south china morning post
reported that the chinese military had
deployed over 100 advanced long-range
rocket launchers along its high-altitude
borders with india. This move had come after a round of
border talks aimed at disengagement from
the strategic area in the high-altitude
depsong plains earlier this month failed. The people's liberation armies PLA move
came in preparation for the intense
himalayan winter. It was also a response to the indian
army deploying M777 ultralight howitzers
developed by bay systems along the
contested lac with its communist
neighbor.
Initially developed for the u.s marine
corps and the u.s army is their
next-generation medium-force weapon. the M777 has become the benchmark for 155
millimeters lightweight towed artillery
systems according to its manufacturer.
New Delhi had cleared a 750 million
dollars acquisition deal to procure 145 M777 howitzers from bay systems under
the u.s government's foreign military
sales FMS program the diplomate reported.
The PLA has deployed chinook helicopter, india's u.s origin heavy liftcopter
gives army decisive edge and border row
with china aviation brigade with india. The firing range of this
chinese-developed launcher is double
that of the M-777
a chinese military source claimed back
then. Less than a fortnight has passed since
those reports, now there is yet another
set of deployments from india's side. The current build-up is positioned in
india's northeastern region and is
centered on the Tawang Plateau and Arunachal Pradesh.
The 14th dalai lama fled to india to
escape a chinese military operation
using nearby mountain passes in 1959. In 1962 both sides fought a war in this
area. Undoubtedly tawang hold significance
immense historical political and
strategic value. To dig its feet firmly into the ground
here the indian army has deployed u.s
made chinook helicopters and light
howitzers along with homegrown
supersonic missiles.
The eurasian times had previously
reported that india had opted for the
chinook to enlarge its fleet of
heavy-lift choppers. Prior to this the country had relied on
a small fleet of russian-built MI-26
heavy transport helicopters. There were multiple reasons for the
indian air force iaf choosing the CH-47
chinook. The chopper was designed and developed
by the u.s rotorcraft company vertol and
manufactured by boeing vertol. The latter has now come to be known as
the vertical lift division of boeing
defense space and security.
The heavy lift copter has a twin-engine
tandem rotor design, it is capable of airlifting a variety of
military and non-military loads into
remote locations. This strategic airlift capacity is
believed to be one of the main reasons
that new delhi had behind picking the
advanced CH-47 multi-mission helicopters. IAF would definitely appreciate the
airlift capability that ranges across a
full spectrum of combat and humanitarian
missions.
Chinooks have proved to be a great
workhorse for the u.s involvement in
afghanistan as such in mountainous
terrain and at high altitude. With carrying capacity of 45 odd troops
or about 11 tons of mixed inside and or
underslung load it can play a very
important role in the insertion of
troops, supply support for various
tactical missions, former IAF vice chief
air Marshal Bhushan go Clay Reddit told
the Eurasian Times.
Indeed chinook's history of being used
by the us army as well as by the
militaries of more than 19 countries
around the world has accorded it with a
certain reputation and political clout. The chopper not only possesses a fully
integrated glass cockpit for mission
management, but it also has a digital
advanced flight control system built to
enhance aircrew safety.
The chinooks come with advanced cargo
handling capabilities which allow
aircrews to quickly and conveniently
shift from missions. Personnel onboard can change from moving
cargo during missions to transporting
people, vehicles and other materials at
hand. Apart from that the choppers are known
for coming in handy in providing support
for the construction of infrastructure
and border road projects. This is especially true of the northeast
region of India.
Additionally boeing has
claimed that the chinook can be operated, climatic, hot, altitude, high and crosswind
conditions. Air vice Marshal Prenay Sinha reddit
said this is the world's best helicopter
for operation at high altitudes in windy
condition. Hence it is a big enabler and force
multiplier for army's mountain core.