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 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.
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.