The top executive of Boeing India clarified on Thursday that the Chinooks used by Indian Air Force (IAF) are absolutely fine and do not have any problems.
This comes after IAF sought for details following the US Army’s decision to ground its entire fleet of CH-47 Chinook choppers due to a risk of engine fires.
Salil Gupte, President of Boeing India told ANI, “IAF contacted our engineers after incidents were reported in the US and have been informed that there is no impact on the helicopter operated by the Indian forces.”
Wall Street Journal quoted US Army officials mentioning that they were aware of a small number of engine fires in the helicopters, and that the incidents never led to any injuries or deaths.
The IAF had sought details from the US-based defence manufacturer about the reasons behind the grounding of the US Army’s entire fleet of Chinook helicopters.
It may be noted that the IAF operates 15 Boeing-made Chinook helicopters acquired from the US. They were inducted into service in March 2019.
On the grounding of the American military’s entire Chinook fleet, ANI quoted government officials as saying, “Indian Air Force Chinook helicopter fleet is still operational. India has sought details of the reasons which have led to the grounding of the entire fleet of US Army's Chinook CH-47 helicopters because of a risk of engine fires.”
One unit of the Indian Air Force’s Chinook chopper fleet is based out of Chandigarh for operations in the north, while another unit is located in Assam for operations in the northeastern regions.
