What are Light Combat Helicopters, Made-in-India choppers being inducted in IAF?
The LCHs are equipped with agility & maneuverability to serve in various terrains and also address needs of both armed forces – Army & Air Force.
New Delhi: The Indian Air Force (IAF) is set to induct the first batch of indigenously built Light Combat Helicopters (LCH), giving the much needed strength to its combat prowess.
The homegrown choppers dubbed as ‘Prachand’ will not only add more more teeth to the Air Force’s defence prowess but will also a long way in achieving ‘Atma Nirbharta’ in the defence sector.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh shared a video of the new choppers on Twitter.
“Naam hai Prachand. (The name is Prachand)”, he tweeted.
नाम है ‘प्रचंड’ pic.twitter.com/dCa3WGvw9A
— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) October 3, 2022
What are LCH helicopters?
The Made In India Light Combat Helicopters will join the series of combat helicopters owned by IAF and will serve a deterrent for the enemies. The LCHs were approved by the Modi government which sanctioned its procurement at a cost of Rs 3,887 crore.
Out of 15 LCHs, 10 helicopters will be inducted into IAF while 5 have been earmarked for the Indian Army.
The LCHs are equipped with agility & maneuverability to serve in various terrains and also address needs of both armed forces – Army & Air Force.
The Army has plan to acquire about 95 LCH for combat role in the mountains.
How LCHs will add more teeth to IAF?
The LCH, developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), have been designed to serve in high-altitude regions. Its induction becomes more important amidst China’s reckless adventurism at border & threat emerging from terror camps on Pakistani soil.
LCH is capable of dodging the enemy, can carry a variety of ammunition, and also deliver it to the site quickly.
The all-weather combat chopper can perform a long range of roles including combat search and rescue (CSAR), destruction of enemy air defence and counter-insurgency (CI) operations.
The LCHs will add to India’s existing fleet of combat helicopters including Apache, Chinook, Cheetah & others.