Haryana VVIPs gets new wings to fly with Rs 80-cr Airbus chopper

Haryana VVIPs, including Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini and Governor Bandaru Dattatreya, got new wings to fly today with the state government acquiring a helicopter -- Airbus H145-D3 -- costing the state exchequer about Rs 80 crore.

The new flying machine will replace the Eurocopter EC-145 chopper, which was purchased to cater to needs of the transportation needs of VVIPs during the Congress government led by Bhupinder Singh Hooda in 2008-09.

Ageing Eurocopter EC-145 to be grounded

• Airbus H145-D3 will replace ageing Eurocopter EC-145 chopper, which was purchased during then Bhupinder Singh Hooda government in 2008-09. The Haryana Government already has a 10-seater Beechcraft King Air 250

• The process to acquire new flying machine was set in motion in 2021. The chopper was finalised in 2022. High maintenance cost and frequent grounding are behind the phasing out of Eurocopter EC-145

Meanwhile, Saini said the current helicopter was ‘quite old’. “The state government had been considering acquiring a new helicopter. Today, the new helicopter has arrived. I congratulate the Haryana Government officials for fulfilling this long-standing requirement,” Saini said after performing religious rituals for the helicopter here.

The process to acquire the new helicopter was kicked off in December 2021 during the tenure of former CM Manohar Lal Khattar when global bid was floated. Subsequently, the pre-bid meeting was attended by the three original equipment manufacturer -- Airbus Helicopters, Germany, Leonardo SpA, Italy, and Bell Textron Aviation, USA. A single bid was later received from Airbus Helicopters. The High-Powered Purchase Committee (HPCC) of the state government later gave its nod to the proposal to acquire the new chopper in 2022.

The new chopper boasts of state-of-the-art features, including improved sound-proofing, strobe lights and a night vision goggle compatible cockpit.

Claiming that the ageing Eurocopter required huge maintenance, sources said the copter was not reliable as it was “frequently grounded”. “In view of the huge maintenance cost coupled with the safety of VVIPs, the existing chopper was sought to be replaced,” the source added.

The Haryana Government already has a 10-seater Beechcraft King Air 250 twin-turboprop aircraft which was purchased by the BJP government in 2018. It may be recalled that another Beechcraft King Air 200 aircraft had crashed at the Chandigarh airport soon after taking off in 2014 with then Governor Jagannath Pahadia, his wife and other officials were on board. They all had a miraculous escape.