New Delhi, Union Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu on Saturday congratulated the Indian Army for inducting Apache Guardian helicopter into the force saying it would mordenise capabilities of helicopter fleet.
‘’Proud moment for our country! Congratulations to @IAF_MCC on induction of Apache Guardian helicopter into helicopter fleet. First, heavy-lift helicopter Chinook and now with Apache attack helicopter, IAF is modernizing capabilities of helicopter fleet to take on greater challenges,’’ Mr Prabhu said in his Twitter post.
Earlier in the day, Indian Air Force (IAF) received its first Apache Guardian attack helicopter, which has capability to operate in hostile airspace with threats from ground.
First AH-64E (I) – Apache Guardian helicopter was formally handed over to the Indian Air Force at Boeing production facility in Mesa at Arizona in US on Friday.
The IAF had signed a contract with US Government and Boeing Ltd in September 2015 for 22 Apache helicopters. The first batch of these helicopters is scheduled to be shipped to India by July this year.