Multi-role Combat Helicopter - designed developed & made in India

 

The Multi-role Light Combat Helicopter named 'Prachand' has been designed for the requirements of the modern-day battlefield which can fulfill requirements of Armed Forces in all types of terrains. The American Apache chopper is larger and more capable than this, but this LCH Prachand is well suited for specific roles like high altitude operations and to carry significant payload. It is similar to ALH Dhruv and has number of stealth features, armoured protection systems, night attack capability and crash-worthy landing gear for better survivability. It has good agility, manoeurability, extended range, round the clock all-weather combat capability.

This LCH is armed with 20mm nose gun, 70mm rockets, anti tank guided missile, and air-to-air missile. It is suitable for deployment in high-altitude battlefields for bunker-busting operations, counter-insurgency operations [even in the jungles], combat search and rescue, to attack and distroy enemy air defence and for providing support to the ground forces. It can also counter slow moving aircraft and remotely piloted aircrafts. It can distroy drones with air-to-air missiles and attack battle tanks on the ground with air-to-surface anti tank ammunitions.

This is the only helicopter in the world which can land and take-off at an altitude of 5,000 meters with significant load of weapons and fuel. It can go up to a service ceiling [maximum altitude] of 6,400 meters. State of the art technologies and systems compatible with stealth features such as reduced visual, aural, radar and infrared signatures, tandum cockpit configuration for pilot and co-pilot making the fuselage narrow has enabled improve the stealth feature.

This 5.8 tonne twin engine helicopter is designed and developed by India's Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd [HAL]. About two decades of research and development and extensive testing has fine tuned several aspects of this Combat Helicopter. This LCH will be bed rock of attack helicopter formations in the Indian Armed Forces for next several years.

The first production batch of these have about 45%, by value, indegenous components which will be gradually increased in the future. More than 250 vendors were involved in the manufacturing of various components, assemblies, sub-systems, fixtures, etc.. And about 70 vendors were involved in the indigenisation process. Versatility and offensive protection capability of this LCH is assessed to be at par or even better in some aspects to other attack helicopters available globally. This fact is bound to invoke interest of some other countries too to acquire this Combat Helicopter. With this now India becomes the seventh country in the world to make Attack Helicopters. HAL is also gearing up to produce this model for export, apart from fulfilling the requirement of Indian defence establishment.

The first batch of these Light Combat Helicopters were inducted into the Indian Airforce on 3rd October 2022 in Jodhpur Air Force Station. India's defence minister Rajnath Singh along with Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan and Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari presided over the induction ceremony.