Giving a boost to operational preparedness and self-reliance, the government has given the go ahead for procurement of 156 Prachand Light Combat Helicopters (LCH). Public sector aerospace conglomerate Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) will manufacture these helicopters capable of firing air to air and air to ground missiles. The deal is worth over Rs 50,000 crores.
The nod for this mega procurement was given by Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) on Friday, it was learnt. The versatile helicopter can fly at a height of more than 16, 000 feet and will be deployed in the mountainous terrain along Line of Actual Control (LAC) facing China and Siachen. While the Army will get 90 helicopters, IAF will fly 66 Prachands. The HAL will manufacture these helicopters at its plants in Bengaluru and Tumkur, Karnataka, sources said.
The LCH is a derivative of the Dhruv advanced light helicopters, which was developed during the 1990s and inducted into the Indian Armed Forces during the 2000s. The LCH is a multirole combat helicopter, designed to perform various attack profiles, including relatively high altitude flight. The design and development of the LCH was done in-house, by the Rotary Wing Research and Design Centre (RWR&DC), an internal design office of HAL dedicated to the design of helicopters.
Equipped with a two-person tandem cockpit to accommodate a pilot and co-pilot/gunner, it has been developed to perform both the anti-infantry and anti-armour missions.
In addition to these roles, the LCH is intended to be used for a variety of operational purposes, such as to perform air Defence against slow-moving aerial targets, including both manned aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), participation in counter-insurgency operations and counter surface force operations.
As regards its basic configuration, the twin-engine LCH possesses a relatively narrow fuselage and is equipped with stealth profiling, armour protection, and is equipped to conduct day-and-night combat operations.
