Explained: The grounding of the Chinook helicopter by the US and the implications for India

On Wednesday, the United States Army grounded its entire fleet of Chinook helicopters, its battlefield workhorse since the 1960s, after finding the helicopter to be at risk of engine fires.

The move has implications for India, as it operates a fleet of 15 Boeing-made Chinook helicopters acquired from the US and inducted into service in March 2019.

The U.S. Army has grounded its entire fleet of Chinook helicopters due to a risk of engine fires https://t.co/wbomV4SsXL

— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) August 30, 2022

We take a closer look at the Chinook and its use in India and America as well decode what happens next.

All about the Chinook

The Chinook helicopter, manufactured by Boeing, is a heavy-lift helicopter that is among the heaviest lifting Western helicopters. Its name, Chinook, is from the Native American Chinook people of Oregon and Washington state.

The Chinook helicopter has been in use in the US Army since the 1960s and it is also used by the armed forces of more than 19 countries.

The helicopter was originally deployed in the Vietnam War and since then been a familiar sight during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. As per a News18 report, the Chinook is designed to carry around 36 passengers, but during the last days of the Vietnam War it carried 147 refugees in a single lift.

It is considered the world’s fastest military helicopter with a maximum speed of 315 kilometres per hour. It has been deployed by the US across many countries including Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and others. The US and UK remains the largest operators.

Why has the US grounded the Chinook?

The Wall Street Journal was the first to report that the US Army had grounded its Chinook fleet as it is suspected that some engine fires broke out on an unspecified number of helicopters.

The report added that the move was taken “out of an abundance of caution”, and more than 70 aircraft were being examined as they “contained a part that is suspected to be connected” to the fires.

The grounding could “pose logistical challenges” for US soldiers, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported, quoting US officials.

India’s Chinooks

In September 2015, India had placed a $3.1 billion order for 15 Chinooks and 22 Apache helicopters to scale up capabilities.

In 2019, India received the first batch of Chinook helicopters and Boeing completed the delivery of the helicopters to the Indian Air Force in 2020.

The big factor behind the purchase of the choppers was that they’re capable of slinging the M777 lightweight howitzers from one location to the other, especially in mountainous terrain like along the borders with China.

Since then, they have emerged as one of the major military tools for airlift operations in places like Ladakh and Siachen glaciers to assist Indian forces deployed in these regions.

The IAF Chinooks also set a record in April this year by flying the longest non-stop chopper sorties in India — 1,910 km in 7.5 hours — with the operational training task requiring it to fly from Chandigarh to Jorhat.

What happens to India’s Chinooks?

After the US grounded its fleet of the workhorse helicopter, the IAF sought details on the matter.

On late Wednesday night, the IAF stated: “IAF Chinooks are flying as before... they have not faced any issues. From what we know, the US grounded its Chinook fleet after a few instances of engine fires due to fuel leaks took place in some choppers that had undergone engine overhauls and maintenance.”

“The fact that the IAF is continuing to fly its Chinooks implies that the technical issue affecting the American fleet is not relevant to IAF’s fleet. However, what is certain is that the IAF would be in close touch with the manufacturer and keeping a close watch on the progress of the rectification,” Air Vice Marshal Manmohan Bahadur (retd), former additional director general, Centre for Air Power Studies, was quoted as saying to Hindustan Times.

He added that even if later the Chinook had to be checked out of India’s arsenal, its non-availability wouldn’t be an issue as the Indian Air Force has a large and capable fleet of Mi-17s that would take over the task.

With inputs from agencies

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