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Prachand: India’s First Made in India LCH
Prachand — India’s first Made in India Light Combat Helicopter is another milestone towards self-reliance in the defence sector and Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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Prachand — India’s first Made in India Light Combat Helicopters (LCH) were inducted into the Indian Air Force on 3 October 2022. The LCH were inducted into the IAF at a ceremony in Jodhpur in the presence of Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh and Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari. The induction of the LCH is another milestone towards self-reliance in the defence sector and Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Prachand LCH has been primarily designed for deployment in high-altitude regions where it can carry a significant payload. It has been tested under stringent operating conditions, including at sea level, in desert regions, in Siachen and over Ladakh. The prototypes have together undergone over 2,000 flights with close to 1600 flight hours. It was during the Kargil conflict with Pakistan in 1999 that the need for such an indigenously-developed armed helicopter with high-altitude capability was acutely felt for the first time.
Prachand LCH has a number of stealth features, armored-protection systems, night attack capability, and crash-worthy landing gear for better survivability. It is equipped with requisite agility, maneuverability, extended range, high altitude performance, and all-weather combat capability to perform a range of roles, including in high-altitude bunker-busting operations, in combat search and rescue (CSAR), destruction of enemy air defence (DEAD), and counter-insurgency (CI) operations in the jungles and urban environments, as well as for supporting ground forces. State-of-the-art technologies and systems compatible with stealth features such as reduced visual, aural, radar, and IR signatures, have also been integrated into the LCH for deployment in combat roles. Prachand can take out Chinese drones with air-to-air missiles, and can also take out tanks on the ground using air to surface anti-tank munitions. Prachand has been designed to operate at an altitude of up to 20,000 feet, has a combat range of 500 kms, and is the only attack helicopter in the world that can land and take off at an altitude of 5,000 metres.
Equipped with state-run aerospace major Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd., HAL’s new-generation Shakti engine, co-developed with French engine-maker Safran, the 5.8-ton Prachand LCH comes armed with a cannon mounted below its nose. The LCH is armed with 20mm nose gun, 70 mm rockets, anti-tank guided missile ‘Dhruvastra’ and air to air missile ‘Mistral-2’ of MBDA which has a maximum interception range of 6.5km. The hinge-less elastomeric rotors made of carbon fiber are crafted for max maneuverability and good handling. The shape of the aircraft makes it accelerate quickly to top speeds of 330 plus kmph. Several key aviation technologies like a glass cockpit and composite airframe structures have been indigenized.
The Light Combat Helicopter Limited Series Production (LSP) is an indigenously designed, developed and manufactured state-of-the-art modern combat helicopter containing approximately 45% indigenous content by value which will progressively increase to more than 55% for SP Version. The upcoming series production version will consist of further modern & indigenous systems. According to HAL there is a projected requirement of 160 LCHs — 65 for IAF and 95 for Indian Army. Notably, two LCHs were flight-evaluated in eastern Ladakh in 2020 amid the military confrontation with China there. The Cabinet Committee on Security had approved the purchase of LCHs in March 2022. The total cost of the aircraft was Rs 3,887 crore, including Rs 377 crore for infrastructure. Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi officially handed over the helicopter to the IAF in Uttar Pradesh’s Jhansi on 19 November 2021.
Tags: The New India, Defence
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