The Indian Air Force formally welcomed the Prachand, the first made-in-India multirole light combat helicopter (LCH) at its Jodhpur base in Rajasthan. The helicopters were incorporated into the Indian Air Force fleet in the presence of Mr. Rajnath Singh, Defense Minister of India.
Anil Chauhan, Chief of Defense Staff General, and VR Chaudhary, Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal also graced the induction ceremony at the Jodhpur base in the 143 Helicopter Unit, with their presence. Post the induction, the defense minister, Rajnath Singh, also took a sortie in the helicopter.
The formal induction of the helico[pters is a result of PM Narendra Modi-chaired cabinet committee on security. The committee approved the procurement of 15 LCH Limited Series Production (LSP) at Rs 3,887, and the allied infrastructure sanction worth Rs 377 crore.
The helicopter is named Prachand, which literally means “fierce”. The helicopters possess the ability to destroy enemy air defenses. The Prachand helicopters are capable of performing counter-insurgency operations, along with combat search and rescue tasks. There have been 15 LCH helicopters procured, out of which five are for the Indian Army and ten are for the Indian Air Force.
The Light Combat Helicopters (LCH) contain a narrow fuselage due to the tandem cockpit configuration for the pilot and co-pilot gunner. It also has a myriad of stealth features, night attack capability, armor protection, and crash-worthy landing gear promising better survivability.
According to the ministry, the helicopter possesses the required agility, extended range,
Mobility, high-altitude performance along with 24-hours, all-weather combat ability to perform Combat Search And Rescue (CSAR) roles, Destruction of Enemy Air Defense (DEAD) roles, along with Counter-Insurgency (CI) operations.
The smartly-designed helicopter also appears to be an efficient asset having the ability to counter slow-moving aircraft and Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPAs). The helicopter can also be deployed easily in high-altitude bunker busting operations and counter-insurgency operations in all sorts of environments whether they are urban or in the jungle. Moreover, it can successfully support ground forces in a myriad of combat scenarios.
The defense public sector undertaking Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL) has designed and developed this 5.5-tonne class combat beauty.
According to defense minister Rajnath Singh, the LSP version of the LCH contains around 45 percent indigenous content by value. This value will progressively escalate to more than 55 percent for the series production version.
Rajnath Singh, the Defence Minister of India, addressed the induction ceremony by saying, “For a long time after Independence, indigenous technology towards the development of attack helicopters was not given enough attention. As a result, the IAF had to depend on foreign-origin attack helicopters. The long-felt need for indigenous attack helicopters was highlighted even more during the Kargil War. LCH is a result of two-decade-long research and development since then. And its induction is an important milestone in our journey of indigenous defense production.”
Speaking at the Induction Ceremony of Light Combat Helicopters (LCH) in Jodhpur.
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नाम है ‘प्रचंड’ pic.twitter.com/dCa3WGvw9A
Took a sortie in the newly inducted Light Combat Helicopter, ‘Prachand’ in Jodhpur today.
The LCH is the first indigenous Multi-Role Combat Helicopter designed and manufactured by HAL.
It has potent ground attack and aerial combat capability. pic.twitter.com/HccdCCs1Vj
Capable of operating from high altitude terrain and carrying out precision strike at high altitude targets, Helicopter ‘Prachand’ is a formidable addition to IAF’s arsenal.
I congratulate the IAF, HAL & all other stoke holders on the induction of these powerful machines.
As per the smart designer and developer of helicopters, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd., there is a projected need for 160 Light Combat Helicopters (LCH) in total, out of which 65 will belong to the IAS and 95 to the Indian Army. A contract for 15 in the LSP series in March has been given after the cabinet committee decision, out of which some units have successfully been delivered, and the remaining units are standing at multiple stages of acceptance.
The Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. has devised a smartly-curated, detailed master plan for the purpose of touching the peak production rate capacity of 30 helicopters per year to complete the production of the remaining 145 LCHs in eight years from the signing date of the series production order.
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