Austrian Alouette-III
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In 2003, India issued an RFP for 197 light helicopters to replace its Army’s aging fleet of Chetaks (Aerospatiale SA316 Alouette III) and Cheetahs (SE316B Alouette II). These helicopters are old designs, but they have consistently proven themselves in high altitude operations and remain useful. The Army Aviation Corps wanted new helicopters with better performance and support characteristics to perform a variety of armed light utility tasks, including ferrying loads of up to 75 kg to troops based at heights of 23,000 feet around Kashmir, the Siachen Glacier, et. al. Operation at these altitudes has traditionally been very challenging for helicopters, owing to reduced rotor lift in the thinning air.

Indian officials were discussing a deal worth between $500-$600 million to buy 60 helicopters outright, with the remaining 137 being built under license by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). Eurocopter’s AS550 C3 Fennec and Bell Textron’s 407 competed in the second and final round of summer trials, and as 2007 ticked toward a close, it looked like we had a winner. As often happens in India, however, the process ended up completely derailed. Now, there’s a new RFP – this time, for 312 helicopters…

• The Contenders [updated]
• Milestones & Developments [updated]
• Additional Readings & Sources [updated]

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