LCH in Jodhpur
Jodhpur: In order to further bolster the force’s combat prowess, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will commission multi-role home-grown Light Combat Helicopter into Indian Air Force at Jodhpur on Monday.
The platform which has a capability of firing a range of missiles and other weaponry systems, is a 5.8-tonne twin-engine helicopter. It has been designed to deploy in high-altitude regions.
Indian Air Force will formally welcome @HALHQBLR-made Light Combat Helicopter on 03 October at Jodhpur. #LCH #Aatmanirbharbharat @sarang_iaf @DefenceMinIndia pic.twitter.com/7NY1i6X6j4
— India Sentinels (@indiasentinels) October 2, 2022
On the occasion, IAF chief ACM VR Chaudhari will also be present. Earlier this year in March, Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) had approved the procurement of 15 indigenously developed Limited Series Production (LSP) LCH at a cost of Rs 3,887 crore.
Out of 15, 10 will be given to the IAF while remaining five to the Indian Army. It should be noted that the LCH has similarities with Advanced Light Helicopter Dhruv.
It has a number of stealth features, armoured-protection systems, night attack capability and crash-worthy landing gear for better survivability, officials said.
The LCH is equipped with requisite agility, manoeuvrability, extended range, high altitude performance and all-weather combat capability to perform a range of roles including combat search and rescue (CSAR), destruction of enemy air defence (DEAD) and counter-insurgency (CI) operations.
The helicopter can also be deployed in high-altitude bunker-busting operations, counter-insurgency operations in the jungles and urban environments as well as for supporting ground forces.
The helicopter can also be used against slow-moving aircraft and remotely piloted aircraft (RPAs) of adversaries. Officials said it would be a potent platform to meet the operational requirements of the IAF and the Indian Army.
They said state-of-the-art technologies and systems compatible with stealth features such as reduced visual, aural, radar and IR signatures and crashworthiness features for better survivability have been integrated into the LCH for deployment in combat roles.
Several key aviation technologies like a glass cockpit and composite airframe structure have been indigenized. The future series-production version will consist of further modern and indigenous systems.
The IAF has already accepted four LCH helicopters. The officials said IAF plans to procure more LCH in the near future.
"We are already working with DRDO and HAL to integrate new weapons on the helicopter," said one of the officials. The helicopter has been tested under stringent operating conditions including at sea level, in desert regions and in Siachen. In February 2020, it was declared ready for production.
The Army has a plan to acquire 95 LCH largely for a combat role in the mountains.
Production of LCH will reduce import dependence for Combat helicopters in the country. Light Combat Helicopters are already in the import embargo list.
With its versatile features built in for combat missions, LCH has export capability.
