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Ajay Banerjee

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 13

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is to decide if 11 more attack helicopters are to be procured as a follow on to the existing order of 22 ‘AH-64-D Apache’ copters from US-based giant Boeing.The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), the highest decision-making body of the MoD, is to meet after Independence Day. However, “wrinkles” of the purchase are still being ironed out for the project that is expected to cost about $900 million ( Rs 60,000 crore). The DAC will assess a request made by the Army, which wants the MoD to exercise the “option clause” that allows the purchase of 11 more helicopters. The MoD’s finance wing has its reservations and is not in favour of giving the copters to the Army as the first lot of 22 is contracted for the Air Force.(Follow The Tribune on Facebook; and Twitter @thetribunechd)The Services Capital Acquisition Categorisation Higher Committee, with representatives of the IAF and the Army, has decided that the 11 copters should be taken as the capability was needed. “The narrow matters of inter-service operations cannot hold back the use of helicopters,” an official said.  The first lot of 22 copters approved by the MoD in September 2015 has been allocated to the IAF, the Army wants the follow-on order for itself.  The US copter had won the bid in an open competition beating the Russian built Mi-28-H.For a number of years, the Army and the IAF have been sparring over who should operate the future fleet of Apache copters. The Army initially asked for the gunships to be inducted into its ranks, or for the IAF to at least share the helicopters with the ground forces. The IAF, however, rejected both proposals.In 2014, the MoD had an in-principle agreement allowing attack helicopters for the Army. Till now, the Army has only ‘non-armed’ helicopters. The MoD has accepted the need to have some 39 armed helicopters for the Army which will fly overhead when ground-based troops move in for attack. Such copters usually carry missiles.