India’s Light Combat Helicopter (LCH),
currently under development by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for service
in the Indian Army (IA) and Indian Air Force (IAF) is undergoing weapons
integration, according to local media reports.
“LCH is ready, we are integrating its weapons, we tried
rockets and it was good, we need to try missiles ATGM — anti-tank guided
missile, (these) are the ones which we are integrating and we just have to
demonstrate that,” the chairman of HAL, Suvarnu Raja told The Times of India.
HAL has so far been extensively testing four LCH prototypes.
The third LCH helicopter recently completed hot and high altitude trials at Leh
in Jammu and Kashmir. The LCH prototypes have been undergoing extensive weapons
trials beginning in July, as I reported elsewhere.
A LCH prototype also successfully fired 70 millimeter rockets
during the 2016 iteration of the IAF’s Iron Fist military exercise held in
March in the Thar Desert in Pokhran, Rajasthan in northwestern India. “The
flight trials were successful with respect to system integration, structural
integrity, noise and vibration, functionality of system and safe separation of
rockets,” Indian Minister of State for Defense Rao Inderjit Singh told the
Indian Parliament in May, in reference to the helicopter’s performance during
Iron Fist.
The LCH is armed with a number of different weapons systems,
as I explained in an earlier piece:
The armored attack helicopter’s weapon suite includes a 20
millimeter French Giat-Nexter turret gun, four Belgium-made 70 mm anti-tank
guided missiles (or, once operational, the Indian Helina anti-tank missile,
which is still in development), and MBDA Mistral-2 air-to-air missiles. SAAB
South Africa is providing the LCH’s electronic warfare suite.
Speaking to the Times of India, Raja also revealed that HAL
is undertaking limited serial production of the LCH. “We have launched a limited
series production, with a confidence and hope that we get definite orders on
this. We have also inquiries on this platform from other countries, and so we
will start making five helicopters this year,” Raju said.
The Indian Army’s Army Aviation Corps (AAC) has expressed its
intention of acquiring 114 helicopters and the IAF 65. However, no contract has
been signed so far. “It has to turn into a contract between the Services and
HAL,” according to Raju.
The LCH, which made its maiden flight in May 2010, has been
specifically developed in response to the lack of an attack helicopter capable
of performing high-altitude operations during the 1999 Kargil War.
Consequently, the LCH, a derivative of the HAL Dhruv helicopter, has been
primarily designed for high-altitude warfare – HAL and French engine-maker,
Turbomeca jointly designed a special engine optimized for extreme altitudes –
and has an operational ceiling limit of 6,000–6,500 meters (19,700–21,300 feet).
The AAC helicopter fleet is only at 70 percent of its
authorized strengths, according to the Indian Ministry of Defense.
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