SOURCE: RAUNAK KUNDE / NEWS BEAT / IDRW.ORG
Latest pictures coming out of the Air Force Station Chandigarh which is a major logistical air base for the supplies to forward areas in Ladakh and Kashmir can be seen parked in the open three Mi-26, World’s largest helicopter based with the No 126 Helicopter unit still wrapped and still waiting for the much needed Russian overhaul after the last helicopter was grounded nearly 5 years ago.
Since 1986, 4 Mi-26 Helicopters have been part of moving Heavy logistics for the country. IAF presently has 3 non-operational Mi-26 Helicopters that have completed their stipulate technical life and require major overhaul for further operational usage.
The first Helicopter was grounded in 2013, the second in 2014, and the last one in 2017 but attempts to give it a fresh lease of life have been stuck for the last 5 years apparently due to financial issues and bureaucratic machinery that have flagged it.
idrw.org has been told Russian Helicopters, a part of Rostec State Corporation, which was negotiating with the Indian side the financial and technical details of the contract for these overhauls came up with a cost that was near twice as much than anticipated since it required changes of some parts and replacement of avionics and a complete overhaul of the engines and other systems.
The Mi-26, the world’s largest load-lifting helicopter, is widely used throughout the world for carrying out transport, evacuation, and fire prevention tasks. The Mi-26 is capable of transporting up to 20 tones of cargo inside its fuselage or on an external suspension.
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