The army on tuesday inaugurated its new aviation base near the Manasbal lake. The base will house the latest flying machines and a small airstrip will ready shortly, said the Army.

“The state-of-the-art aviation base will house the multi-role Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopter, indigenously manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Bangalore,” said Defence spokesperson Anil Mathur.

During the inauguration, a Dhruv team, led by Commanding Officer of the squadron Col Rakesh Kapoor, displayed the capabilities of this versatile helicopter. These included formation flying, high gravity maneuvers, slithering operations and under-slung cargo carriage.

The spokesperson said the helicopter can be effectively used for disaster relief, search and rescue, casualty evacuation and other operations. The Army is also planning to induct Dhruv in Siachen, the highest battlefield. The Army is, in fact, the biggest customer of Dhruv helicopters.

Apart from the Indian forces, the Israeli Ministry of Defence, Chile and a few other countries have placed orders for this designer manufacture.