HAL Prachand - Light Combat Helicopter (LCH)

[Dark Sorrow]

 

[Dark Sorrow]

LCH armament

 

[Dark Sorrow]

 

[Dark Sorrow]

 

[Dark Sorrow]

 

[Dark Sorrow]

Rear Seat

 

[Dark Sorrow]

Isn't the FLIR located at the bottom part of the heli?

 

[Dark Sorrow]

 

[Dark Sorrow]

YouTube - Light combat helicopter from HAL (INDIA)

 

[prahladh]

In anti-tank role how does LCH track targets. Does it use its onboard radar or someone paints those tanks.

 

[s_bman]

mods: i thought not to start new thread

Army bought choppers with technical flaws: Auditor
New Delhi, July 10: The 40 indigenously-built advanced light helicopters (ALHs) the Indian Army has bought for Rs 1,747 crore (Rs 356 million) have a technical flaw that prevents them from flying to heights of 6,500 metres, thus affecting operational preparedness in high altitude areas like the Siachen glacier, India's audit watchdog says.

"The ALH was not able to fly above 5,000 metres, though the Army's requirement stipulated an ability to fly upto 6,500 metres. This deficiency was because of the limitation of the engine used in ALHs," the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) said in his report released on Friday.

The Army needs choppers of the ALH category for quick movement of troops and logistics in operational areas, including in the extreme weather conditions of the Siachen Glacier. The helicopters are also meant to enhance surveillance capabilities.

The Indian Army bought the ALHs despite other shortcomings like unacceptably high vibration levels.

According to the report, the Army ordered the ALHs after its manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) said it would develop a more powerful engine to replace the existing power plant.

"HAL, however, failed to overcome the shortcomings in the ALH even after five years as of December 2006. The inability to fly above 5,000 metres was due to the inability of HAL to reduce the empty weight of the helicopter as had been assured to the government," the CAG report said.

"The Army is compelled to rely on the old fleet of single engine Cheetah and Chetak helicopters which are of more than 30 years old technology," it added.

"Failure of the Army to acquire suitable ALHs timely has led to considerable dealy in de-induction of old fleet of Cheetah and Chetak helicopters, which may impact operational preparedeness of the Army adversely, especially in high altitude areas in forward locations," the report maintained.

IANS

 

[Dark Sorrow]

In anti-tank role how does LCH track targets. Does it use its onboard radar or someone paints those tanks.

It uses FLIR to track tank targets. As Nag uses IIR guidence, FLIR makes more sence.
I believe LCH doesn't yet possess a radar. Things might change when Nag gets a might get millimetric wave seeker.

 

[venkat]

According to Mr. R.Srinivasan, MD of newly formed Helicopter complex, HAL,Bengaluru, LCH will fly in NOV2009 as per the interview appeared in the latest MSM inhouse Mag!http://www.hal-india.com/MinskSquareMatters-Issue81.pdf

 

[John]

Nag already has mmw seeker right?? anyways word has it that the LCH had some weight problems its now on a diet.

 

[Dark Sorrow]

Nag already has mmw seeker right?? anyways word has it that the LCH had some weight problems its now on a diet.

Do you have any link to back your claim.

 

[John]

Extra 250 kg weigh down HAL's Light Combat Helicopter project

Bangalore: Visitors to Aero India 2009, to be held in Bangalore from February 11 to 15, who hoped to catch a first-ever glimpse of India’s high-tech Light Combat Helicopter (LCH), will return disappointed. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has told Business Standard that design glitches — including extra weight and delays in manufacturing the tooling on which the LCH will be fabricated — have pushed back the first flight by up to a year.
Some consolation will be afforded to enthusiasts of indigenous production from the first display flights of a black leopard-painted prototype of the armed Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopter. Called the Weapons Systems Integrated Dhruv (WSI Dhruv), this is the machine on which the LCH’s armaments and sensors are being perfected, even as designers struggle to pare down the extra 250 kilos that have come up on the LCH.
“An extra 250 kilos may not seem much on a 5.5-tonne helicopter, but it really is a serious problem,” explains HAL’s helicopter design chief N Seshadri. “At altitudes of 6,000 metres (almost 20,000 feet), which the LCH must operate at, the air is so thin that it can only carry a weapon payload of 350-500 kg. If the helicopter ends up 250 kg heavier than planned, its high-altitude firepower will be dramatically reduced,” he says.
Being built on the basic design of the Dhruv ALH, the LCH is currently HAL’s most prestigious project. Many of its components,
including the engine, crucial moving parts like the rotor, and the instrumentation of the LCH, have already been tested on the Dhruv.
Armaments and the sensors are taking shape on the WSI-Dhruv. With much of this already done, HAL had planned to fly its first LCH prototype by December 8, 2008. A second prototype was to be readied in the first half of this year. But that timeline has turned out to be too ambitious. One reason for this is that the LCH is technologically far more complex than the Dhruv. The Dhruv is a utility helicopter, designed for simple tasks like reconnaissance, casualty evacuation and for conveying small teams of up to seven soldiers. In contrast, the LCH is an attack helicopter, a flying weapon platform built purely for combat. It must fly and fight by day and by night, bringing down missile, rocket and cannon fire on dangerous enemy targets like tanks.
10/02/09 Ajai Shukla/Business Standard

Aero India 2009 News: Extra 250 kg weigh down HAL's Light Combat Helicopter project

 

[RPK]

---------- Post added at 02:11 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:08 PM ----------

 

[RPK]

 

[Maverick007]

Whats the latest news on the LCH.............Have not read anything about them in the last some time......

 

[Pintu]

Its first flight pushed to current year end, please check the link:

Light Combat Helicopter struggles to slim down

Regards