The first indigenously developed Light Combat Helicopters (LCH) was on Monday inducted into Indian Air Force at Jodhpur. Defence minister Rajnath Singh, IAF chief Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari and CDS General Anil Chauhan were present at the induction ceremony.
“It is a momentous occasion reflecting India’s capability in defence production,” Singh said. The LCH would be effective in hitting enemy infantry, tanks, bunkers, drones and other assets in high-altitude regions, military officials said.
#WATCH | The first indigenously developed Light Combat Helicopters (LCH) inducted into Indian Air Force at Jodhpur, in the presence of Defence minister Rajnath Singh and IAF chief Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari pic.twitter.com/sh3fqkTprg
— ANI (@ANI) October 3, 2022
Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) cleared the purchase of 15 of these LCHs for the air force and the army on March 30, 2022. Of the 15 limited series production helicopters approved by CCS, 10 are for the IAF and five for the army.
Know more about LCH ‘Made in India’:
- Light Combat Helicopter Limited Series Production (LSP) is indigenously designed, developed, and manufactured by state-run aerospace major Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL).
- LCH weighs about 6 tons and can land and take off from an altitude of 5,000 meters with a considerable load of weapons and fuel.
- LCHs are equipped with ‘Mistral’ air-to-air missiles and air-to-surface missiles specially sourced from France.
- The LCH has two pods of 12-12 rockets of 70 mm each.
- LCHs are equipped with requisite agility, manoeuvrability, extended range, high altitude performance, and around-the-clock, all-weather combat capability.
- 20 mm gun mounted in the nose of the LCH, which can rotate in any direction at 110 degrees.
- All the features of the cockpit are displayed on the helmet of the pilot.
- Stealth features like reduced Visual, Aural, Radar, and IR signatures and crashworthiness features for better survivability have been integrated into LCH for deployment in combat roles catering to emerging needs for the next 3 to 4 decades.
- Key aviation technologies like Glass Cockpit and composite airframe structures have been indigenised.
- Will perform roles of Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR), Destruction of Enemy Air Defence (DEAD), Counter Insurgency (CI) operations, against slow-moving aircraft and Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPAs), high altitude bunker busting operations, Counter Insurgency operations in the jungle and urban environments and support to ground forces and would be a potent platform to meet the operational requirements of Indian Air Force and Indian Army.
