Arizona: In what comes as major boost to India's air strike capabilities, the Indian Air Force received its first Apache Guardian attack helicopter in the United States.

The Apache Guardian attack helicopter was formally handed over to India on May 10 at the chopper production facility in Arizona, US. India signed a contract for 22 of the Apache Guardian choppers with the US in September 2015.

Air Marshal AS Butola, who represented the Indian Air Force, accepted the first Apache in a ceremony at Boeing production facility where US government representatives were also present.

The first batch of these helicopters is scheduled to be shipped to India by July.

Indian Air Force has already got its aircrew and ground crew trained at the training facilities at US Army base Fort Rucker, Alabama. These trained personnel will lead operationalisation of the Apache fleet in the IAF.

The addition of AH-64 E (I) helicopter is seen as a significant step towards modernisation of the Indian Air Force's helicopter fleet.

The first Apache Guardian attack helicopter has been customised to suit IAF's future requirements and will have significant capability in the mountainous terrain.

The helicopter has the capability to carry out precision attacks at standoff ranges and operate in hostile airspace with threats from ground.