Afghanistan Times
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AT Monitoring Desk-KABUL: India has delivered three Cheetal helicopters along with allied equipment and spares to Afghanistan, Indian junior defense minister told parliament on Friday.
Indian Minister of State for Defense Rao Inderjit Singh told the lower house of India (Lok Sabha) in a written reply that the three helicopters were dispatched to Afghanistan on 9th of April and were test flown, and accepted by Afghan pilots on April 15.
He said that the government of India delivered the three helicopters to Afghanistan based on the agreement with the Ministry of External Affairs.
According to an official source the choppers were supplied under the strategic partnership agreement inked between Kabul and New Delhi in 2011.
Cheetals are the upgraded version of Cheetah light utility, multi-role helicopters built by state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. They can be used for personnel transport, casualty evacuation, reconnaissance and aerial survey, logistic support and rescue and can operate in high-altitude areas.
The delivery of the helicopters came at a time that Afghan President Ashraf Ghani is going to pay a visit to India this week.
