Nepal Army is preparing to decommission its two Alouette III helicopters with registration ‘NA029’ and ‘NA030’ after the helicopters have flown 3300 and 1500 hours respectively. Both the helicopter will be retired on 12th Chaitra with special water salute ceremony at the territory of Directorate General of Army Aviation (DGAA), TIA, Gauchar.
The decommissioning program will be conducted under the presence of Chief of Army Staff (CoAS) Rajendra Chettri and other high ranked officers from Nepal Army. Alouette series helicopters have proved to be special for Nepal Army as they have helped in many special army missions including training for new pilots.
Besides, Nepal Army is also preparing to finalize the selling of its aged Puma Helicopter to Africa as the organization has already decided to auction its two Super Puma, one Puma, five Alouette, and three MI-17s including one Cheetah chopper.
With the decommissioning of various aircraft, NA is preparing to procure 2 Russian made Mi-17 V5 helicopter, 2 Agusta VVIP helicopters, 1 Bell 407GXP, 2 CN-235 multi-mission aircraft and 2 Piper Archer training aircraft.
Spokesperson for Nepal Army Brigadier General Gokul Bhandari said that the auction of the helicopters and spare parts is in progress. The procurement of new aircraft is also going on as we have finalized purchase of 2 MI17, one Agusta VVIP helicopter and one CN-235 multi-mission military aircraft from Indonesia, he added.
NA previously received budget approval for acquiring one helicopter and two fixed wing aircraft. The ministry declared to facilitate NA with additional amount of Rs8crores 56lakhs for the two fixed wing aircraft to be used for training purpose whereas Rs37 crores has been already included in the budget. Likewise, Rs41.8 crores has been allocated for the purchase of light helicopter.
