Chetak Helicopter marks 60 years of action in Indian Armed Forces

New Delhi: The oldest helicopter of the Indian Air Force, Chetak, has completed 60 years of glorious service to the Nation. Indian Air Force will commemorate the Chetak helicopter's diamond jubilee at Air Force Station Hakimpet under the aegis of Indian Air Force & Training Command, IAF on 2nd April 2022.

IAF said in a tweet that the Defence Minister Mr Rajnath Singh will attend the event as the Chief Guest.

The Conclave, scheduled at the National Industrial Security Academy Convention Centre, Secunderabad will be attended by the Chief of the Air Staff, senior retired & serving officers of the helicopter stream from the three services and officials of MoD, Indian Coast Guard & Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, it added.

The Conclave intends to provide a platform to showcase six decades of helicopter operations in the country, highlighting Chetak helicopter operations in particular. This event highlight will involve reflections, narrations and discussions by prominent speakers from the veteran community and the Services. Deliverables to the audience would also include perspectives on the evolution of helicopter operations as driven by technology and future battlefield imperatives.

French-origin helicopter Alouette III was inducted into IAF in 1962. However, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) delivered the first licence-produced Chetak (Alouette III) to IAF in 1965. The event will also mark the 60th anniversary of the IAF's Helicopter Training School (HTS), which was set up on April 2, 1962, at Air Force Station, Palam, and relocated to Hakimpet in 1973.

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