KOLKATA: A new helicopter unit comprising multipurpose Mi-17 V5 helicopters - the latest acquisition of the Indian Air Force - has been raised at the Barrackpore airbase. The first helicopter will be inducted on Friday by Air Marshal S Varthaman, AOC-in-C, Eastern Air Command.The Mi-17 V5 choppers have more powerful engines and larger fuel capacity than their predecessors and are extremely versatile for carrying out both military and civil operations. The choppers will be able to operate in high altitudes and air bridge the remote and inhospitable terrain in the North East. The choppers have colour weather radar that allows it to operate in bad weather conditions. tnn Its Generation-III night vision goggles capability will enable special operations. Apart from search and rescue operations on land and sea, the choppers may also be used by central police forces.The helicopters also have sustained fire power and fall in the category of an armed helicopter. One of its most interesting features is the Bambi bucket fire-fighting system. It comprises a large bucket suspended below the aircraft that can pick up about three and a half tonnes of water from any reservoir and drop it over a fire.
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