India's defence ministry has cleared the planned procurement of new attack and heavy-lift helicopters for the nation's air force, but also formally cancelled a decade-long effort to acquire a fleet of 197 reconnaissance and surveillance rotorcraft. In a decision taken on 29 August, New Delhi's Defence Acquisition Council (DAC), led by defence minister Arun Jaitley, approved the purchase of 22 Boeing AH-64E Apaches and 15 CH-47F Chinooks. Worth an estimated $2 billion, the deals still require final ratification from the Indian government's Cabinet Committee on Security.
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