CCS approves procurement of 15 Light Combat Helicopters

The defence ministry said 10 helicopters will be for the Indian Air Force and five will be for the Indian Army

The Cabinet Committee on Security on Wednesday approved purchase of 15 Light Combat Helicopters from Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd at nearly Rs 4,000 crore for the Air Force and Army.

The CCS under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved procurement of 15 LCH limited series production units at a cost of Rs 3,887 crore along with necessary infrastructure worth Rs 377 crore, the defence ministry said in a statement.

Ten of these helicopters would be for the Indian Air Force, whereas Indian Army will operate the remaining five.

The home grown combat chopper would be having 45 per cent indigenous content at the LSP version, which the HAL plans to increase progressively to more than 55 per cent for the series production versions.

Development of the indigenous rotorcraft has its genesis in the Kargil conflict when the armed forces lacked an armed chopper with high altitude flying ability. The HAL in 2006 announced the LCH programme.

Demonstrating its capability, two LCH flew at eastern Ladakh in August 2020 at the height of the Sino-Indian border following the Galwan episode.

In one operation, an LCH took off from a high altitude location to a forward area in the northern sector for a simulated attack on a high altitude target. This was followed by a landing at one of the most treacherous helipads in the region.

The helicopter is equipped with requisite agility, maneuverability, extended range, high altitude performance and around-the-clock, all-weather combat capability for operations like combat search and rescue, destruction of enemy air defence, counter insurgency, combat against slow moving aircraft and remotely piloted aircraft, high altitude bunker busting and support to ground forces.

LCH, officials said, would be a potent platform because of its highly accurate weapons that are capable of hitting any type of target in day or night. It can carry adequate weapon load at high altitudes under varied conditions, making it suitable for hot and high altitude operations.

State of the art technologies and systems compatible with stealth features such as reduced visual, aural, radar and IR signatures and crashworthiness features for better survivability have been integrated in LCH for deployment in combat roles catering to emerging needs for next 3 to 4 decades, the ministry said.

Several key aviation technologies like glass cockpit and composite airframe structure have been indigenised for the LCH. The future Series Production version will consist of further modern and indigenous systems.

The IAF and the Indian Army together need around 160 LCHs of which 15 have been cleared at the moment.

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