Indian Air Force inducts 4 multi-mission Chinook heavy-lift helicopters.

The first four of the 15 CH-47F Chinook helicopters, which were ordered from Boeing in September 2015, were commissioned into the IAF’s 126 Helicopter Unit at a ceremony held at Chandigarh.

A US Army CH-47 Chinook helicopter (Picture source: US Army)

The Chinook will be used to move troops, artillery, ammunition, supplies and equipment on the battlefield. Besides, they can be used for medical evacuation.

“Our country faces a multitude of security challenges and we require a vertical-airlift capability for a very diversified terrain. The Chinook will give the IAF a quantum leap to transport cargo to precarious high-altitude locations,” Air Chief Marshal B.S. Dhanoa told reporters after the induction ceremony.

Each Chinook helicopter, manufactured by US aerospace major Boeing, has a payload capacity of about 10 tonne, which is a major boost to India’s strategic airlift capability.