Symbolising
a major policy shift, India is poised to become one of the largest
military chopper markets growing at 20 per cent annually by 2015.
by Neeraj Mahajan
“If
a man is in need of rescue, an airplane can come in and throw flowers
on him, and that’s just about all. But a direct lift aircraft could come
in and save his life.” ~Igor Sikorsky
Helicopters
like donkeys do the dirty work– yet no one cares till you actually need
them. This is going to be the age of three dimensional warfare,
involving all the theatres of war—land, air and sea. But have you
considered how troops will move from one theatre to another –simple,
using a helicopter. One way or the other, a helicopter gunship will be
the next mean-flying machine, the new mobile battle platform and the new
taxi-to-war.
All
this has more to do with the new forward looking security doctrine of
offensive defence. If guns have been called, ‘Gods of war’—helicopters
are going to be the new ‘force multipliers’—both in counter terrorist
and future military operations.
Like
tank battles in past wars, the future wars will be helicopter wars. To
borrow from what Alvin Tofler said, armies that could reach further, hit
harder, and get there faster would eventually win. Helicopters can make
all this possible. The concept of air mobility has been a favourite of
military strategists who have since the World War toyed with the idea of
making extensive use of helicopters to transport both airborne and
infantry units, together with supporting equipment, either across or
along the edges of the battlefield. No wonder, the Vietnam War was
called America’s ‘helicopter war’, while the war in Afghanistan is
classified as ‘total helicopter war’. ...READMORE
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