CHINOOK

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Context:  The US Army has grounded its fleet of CH-47 Chinook helicopters after finding the helicopter to be at risk of engine fires. The Indian Air Force (IAF) also operates a fleet of Chinook Helicopters.

More on the news:

• The US Army operates around 400 Chinook helicopters which are medium-lift, multi-role helicopters manufactured by Boeing who perform a variety of tasks in support of Army operations.
• Chinook fleet has been grounded by the US Army as it is suspected that some engine fires broke out on an unspecified number of helicopters.

What implications does this development have for IAF?

• The IAF operates a fleet of 15 Chinook helicopters and it has not grounded them as it awaits more word on the US development.
• The Chinooks were inducted into the IAF in 2019.
• One Helicopter Unit of Chinooks is based in Chandigarh while the other is based at Mohanbari airbase in Assam.

Chinook Helicopters:

• The Boeing CH-47 Chinook is an American twin-engined, tandem rotor, heavy-lift helicopter.
• It is developed by American rotorcraft company Vertol and manufactured by Boeing Vertol (later known as Boeing Rotorcraft Systems).
• The Chinooks can carry goods and cargo of up to 9.6 tonnes each.
• The helicopter can also offer support during disaster relief, medical evacuation, search and rescue missions, aircraft recovery and parachute drops.

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-global/us-grounded-chinook-helicopters-problems-implications-explained-8122913/