India Deploys Newly Acquired Apaches in Ladakh

The Indian Air Force (IAF) appears to have deployed Boeing AH-64E Apache attack helicopters in Ladakh as tensions between two Asian powers- China and India- escalate, images from ANI show.

IAF Chief RKS Bhadauria is said to have visited Leh (largest town in Ladakh) and Srinagar on June 17-18 to review preparedness at the bases there.

The IAF has also reportedly deployed fighters- Su-30MKI, MiG-29UPG, Mirage 2000 and Jaguar jets, besides Mi-17V5 medium-lift and CH-47 Chinook heavy-lift helicopters in the region.

On June 10, Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) conducted what it calls an “actual combat flight training exercise” involving WZ-10 rotorcraft in east China’s Shandong Province. The gunship is considered a competitor to the US-built Apache.

The IAF inducted 17 new AH-64E Apache choppers in 2019. They are part of 22 helicopters on order- under a $2 billion (INR 13,952 crore) deal signed with Boeing in 2015. The company is scheduled to deliver the remaining helicopters in this year. The Indian defense ministry is in the process of evaluating the acquisition of an additional six Apaches for the Indian Army.

Chinese state media on Thursday reported that the Army intensified military exercises including high-altitude tank drills and night-time parachute infiltration in Tibet bordering India’s Ladakh region. This followed the fatal clash between Chinese and Indian military in the Galwan Valley on Monday night in which 20 Indian soldiers were killed. Although China did agree there were casualties, the number of Chinese soldiers killed in the incident has not been revealed by the ministry.

The two sides allegedly fought with nail-studded batons and hurled rocks at each other in the disputed Galwan Valley - the deadliest such clash in 45 years.