India Introduces 1st Domestically Built Light Combat Helicopters to Air Force, Boosting Defense Capability

India's national flag held during a rally in Ram Lila Ground in New Delhi on Dec. 27, 2011. Sajjad Hussain/AFP/Getty Images

The Indian Air Force (IAF) introduced on Oct. 3 its first batch of domestically built light combat helicopters (LCH) that are capable of destroying enemy air defenses.

Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, who attended the induction ceremony at the IAF’s Jodhpur base in Rajasthan, India, said the “Prachand” LCH will serve as “a big boost to IAF’s combat prowess.”

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“The LCH is a result of research [and] development for two decades. And its induction into the IAF is an important milestone in defense production,” Singh said at the ceremony, according to India Today.

The LCH induction followed the Cabinet security committee’s March approval of the 15 LCH procurement at the cost of 38.8 billion rupees ($476 million), 10 of which were for the IAF and five of which were for the Indian army.

Singh noted that the LCH meets the needs of the Indian armed forces “in various terrains” as it’s capable of “dodging the enemy, carrying a variety of ammunition, and delivering it to the site quickly.”

The Prachand LCH is a 5.8-ton twin-engine helicopter built by state-run aerospace firm Hindustan Aeronautics and can be deployed from an altitude of 5,000 meters (16,400 feet) with a sizable load of fuel and armaments.

The LCH is capable of performing combat search and rescue, destroying enemy air defenses, and counter-insurgency operations, according to local reports.

It has a protection system and night attack capability comparable to the Advanced Light Helicopter Dhruv and can attack any enemy’s slow-moving aircraft and remotely controlled aircraft.

India also commissioned its first domestically built aircraft carrier, the INS Vikrant, on Sept. 2. The ship, which is 262 meters (860 feet) long and 62 meters (203 feet) tall, can carry 1,600 sailors and displaces about 43,000 tons of water, which is “the largest ship ever built in the maritime history of India,” according to the defense ministry.