In the presence of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, the Indian Air Force formally inducted the first indigenously developed multirole light combat helicopters (LCH) named Prachand into its fleet at its Jodhpur base in Rajasthan. These helicopters are capable of destroying enemy air defences, counter-insurgency operations, and combat search and rescue missions.
General Anil Chauhan, Chief of Defence Staff, and Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari, Chief of Air Staff, were also present at the induction ceremony for the 143 Helicopter Unit at the Jodhpur base. Following the induction, the defence minister took a helicopter flight.
Prachand, which means “fierce,” was formally inducted after the cabinet committee on security, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved in March the procurement of 15 LCH Limited Series Production (LSP) at a cost of Rs 3,887 crore, along with allied infrastructure sanctions worth Rs 377 crore. The IAF will receive ten helicopters from the LSP, while the Indian Army will receive five.
In his address at the induction ceremony, Rajnath Singh said: “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 defence production.”
Because of the tandem cockpit configuration for the pilot and co-pilot gunner, the LCH has a narrow fuselage and several stealth features, armour protection, night attack capability, and crash-worthy landing gear for improved survivability. It is a 5.5-tonne class combat helicopter designed and developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd, a defence public sector undertaking (HAL).
According to the defence minister, the LSP version of the LCH has approximately 45 percent indigenous content by value, which will gradually increase to more than 55 percent for the series production version.
Features of light combat helicopters
According to the ministry, the helicopter has the necessary agility, manoeuvrability, extended range, high-altitude performance, and round-the-clock, all-weather combat capability to perform combat search and rescue (CSAR), destruction of enemy air defence (DEAD), and counter-insurgency (CI) operations.
It is also an effective counter-measure against slow-moving aircraft and remotely piloted aircraft (RPAs), and it can be used in high-altitude bunker busting and counter-insurgency operations in both jungle and urban environments. It can provide effective support to ground forces in a variety of combat scenarios.
According to HAL, a total of 160 LCHs are needed, with 65 for the IAF and 95 for the Army. Following the cabinet committee decision in March, a contract for 15 units in the LSP series was awarded, with some units already delivered and the remainder in various stages of acceptance.
The HAL stated that it has developed a detailed masterplan for achieving a peak rate production capacity of 30 helicopters per year in order to meet the demand for the remaining 145 LCHs within eight years of signing the series production order.
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