The former IAF chief, Air Chief Marshal Arup Raha told The Statesman that the Mi-17s have long been in use with the Indian armed forces who have later also procured variants of it. "This chopper is the workhorse of IAF and has participated in several operations where it proved to be of immense potential in harsh terrain areas with extreme climate conditions. These are medium-lift helicopters which have also aided paramilitary forces in Maoist belts.”
As an immediate move, one Mi-17 Helicopter of the IAF was tasked to rescue the stranded civilians.
The IAF aircraft went missing on June 3 with 13 officers on board after taking off from Assam’s Jorhat airbase for Menchuka Advance Landing Ground in Arunachal Pradesh.
It was criminal for the Mi-17 crew not to have activated its “friend or foe” identification apparatus during a time when a Pakistani raid was continuing.
Iraq’s Defense Ministry says a military helicopter has crashed during a training exercise, killing all seven crew members on board.…
