HAL Prachand - Light Combat Helicopter (LCH)

[Chinmoy]

Confident of closing 1st order for 15 Light Combat Helicopters before year-end, HAL begins manufacturing 5 airframes for quicker delivery, HAL chief R. Madhavan tells us. Further orders of 150+ expected thereafter. Watch: https://youtu.be/gvEoAVCwftQ (Photo/Sanjay Simha)

Untill they go thru Mistral deal, there is little chance of it moving ahead the LSP. Hope it gets short out ASAP.

 

[patriots]

Untill they go thru Mistral deal, there is little chance of it moving ahead the LSP. Hope it gets short out ASAP.

A2a missile on a helicopter makes a little sense... helicopter s are good in a2g role
I believe once helina qualified for production,the deal will be signed
Again in current indo china war scenario ,hal lch would have played a greater role.
I believe lch can do a greater job in those heights , though risk of manpad is there but hiding behind a mountain will help it though

 

[fire starter]

1st contract signing for LCH.

 

[patriots]

1st contract signing for LCH.

No date mentioned...hal hoping before year end.......
Bdw after Indian, Russian , western jets
We will operate
Indian , Russian and western attack helicopter s

 

[fire starter]

it seems that 9 airframes are completed.

 

[patriots]

it seems that 9 airframes are completed.

9 airframe s are in production...was awaiting weapon integration.........it was last reported
But now hal cmd says they are producing 5 helicopters in anticipation of the order
Conflicting ....... statements

 

[WolfPack86]

1st Contract Finally In Sight For India’s Own Attack Helicopter

Freshly confident that an elusive contract for India’s first attack helicopter is in sight, India’s Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) has ramped up production of the Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) in Bengaluru. With crucial — and sticky — price negotiations complete, HAL is finally reassured that this one’s in the bag.


If HAL is right, and the contract is closed this year, it will be a full four years after the Indian MoD cleared the acquisition in November 2016, a long time for a program that’s been waiting for years, but fleeting by traditional Indian contracting standards.


Speaking in an exclusive interview to Livefist, HAL chairman R. Madhavan said, “That (the order) will come very soon. We have concluded price negotiations. We are now awaiting financial sanction. By the end of this year, we should see the initial order for 15 aircraft. After that we expect orders for more than 150. In fact, assuming we’re receiving the order, we’ve already begun production of five new aircraft immediately. This will allow us to deliver the aircraft earlier than planned, once the order is confirmed.”


Watch the full interview with HAL’s chairman at Livefist’s YouTube channel, here.

While the Indian Air Force will be the LCH’s launch customer, the Indian Army will receive most of the 165 planned airframes. The two services still haven’t fully sorted out who must operate armed helicopters, with even foreign imports of the AH-64E being split between the two services for now.


The first LCH order has been tantalisingly close but just out of reach for a few years now, though it must be said that HAL is now for the first time convinced that contract signature will take place before the year is out. It has been a tense wait.


Speaking to Livefist last February, HAL’s chief helicopter test pilot Wing Commander Unni Pillai said, “We are awaiting contract signature. The delivery of the first 15 can happen almost immediately. We’ve already made structures for 9 inhouse using HAL money. They only need to be equipped. Will take 6 months to deliver and can do it before the stipulated time in contract. Will be the first time a delivery is happening well in advance to the users. We expect a total order for 165 airframes. Looking at foreign market very closely too. Very few countries make a cost-effective attack helicopter — few countries can afford the capability. Will compete with China too.”

Unlike virtually every other attack helicopter in the market, the LCH’s biggest designed-in capability is high altitude performance, a key requirement from the aircraft. Prototypes of the helicopter have been deployed repeatedly over the last decade in the super-high altitude areas of Ladakh and the Siachen Glacier.


LCH project pilot Group Captain Hari Nair tells Livefist, “This has to be seen against the backdrop of the Kargil War, it was back then when we had attack helicopters which could not reach to the altitudes because of performance limitations. That is when the Air Force wanted a weapon system with the capabilities of reaching those altitudes and that was the backdrop to the requirements that were framed for this helicopter. That’s the origin and we developed using the rorten transmission of the ALH and they are not only about rescaling. They have much more than this, they have got improved aeroganamics . There was a challenge in intergrating the wing, yet helicopter and retaining the over performance and essentially the focus was on high altitude. High altitudes in the sense that, much more than what the western helicopters are capable of. Altitutes in the axis of 15000-17000 feet, operating and firing weapons. So the entire focus was to develop an attack helicopter to operate in those higher altitudes.”

Group Captain Nair adds, “As a pilot when you fly in the terrain, I am used to flying in certain other helicopters which are still in service with the Indian Air Force. The performance of the LCH gives tremendous freedom of operations. Freedom in the sense of the flight envelop, handling, characteristics, it is very forgiving. It has got a very high transit speed compared to the other helicopters in the service today.”

At the testing level, weapons trials have been successful, though bureaucratic hurdles have left the LCH (and the Dhruv-based Rudra) incompletely armed. Last year Livefist detailed the inexplicable path that has left the LCH ironically armed with launchers, but without weapons to fire from them. Armed with a chin-mounted 20mm Nexter M621 cannon and 70mm rocket pods, the LCH has ATAM (air to air Mistral) launchers, and will deploy the Dhruvastra twin launcher for the indigenous HELINA anti-tank guided missile. An ongoing effort has also sought to arm the LCH with a foreign-made anti-tank missile, either the Rafael Spike ER or MBDA PARS L3, though that hasn’t resulted in a decision or next steps.

Manufacturing and fabrication work has ramped up at HAL’s facility in Bengaluru. In February this year, right before the Covid19 pandemic hit, HAL inaugurated the LCH final assembly hangar.

1st Contract In Sight For India's Own Attack Helicopter

With tough price negotiations finally concluded, HAL looks to receive a historic 1st order for its LCH by the end of this year.

www.livefistdefence.com

 

[Karthi]

1st contract signing for LCH.

Price negotiation 4 Years Don't know cry or laugh

 

[Gandaberunda]

Price negotiation 4 Years Don't know cry or laugh

It's IAF and IA foreign import MoD dalals held up LCH orders. Even now IAF and army are hell bent to get More Apaches than LCH. This is how they treat indegineous platform.

 

[Chinmoy]

A2a missile on a helicopter makes a little sense... helicopter s are good in a2g role
I believe once helina qualified for production,the deal will be signed
Again in current indo china war scenario ,hal lch would have played a greater role.
I believe lch can do a greater job in those heights , though risk of manpad is there but hiding behind a mountain will help it though

Tell this to IAF. They want it equipped with A2A as well as A2G capability. Anyway the thought of having attack helos with IAF is simply illogical. But if you are giving them that, you need to give them package too.
DRDO & HAL on their part delayed the whole integration process of HELINA which even prompted IA to ask for Mistral integration as it would serve their purpose as well.

 

[Suhaan]

No matter what they are accused of i like the chinese way of copying foreign tech,atleast we should have got/get inspired with Apaches and build our own ,but how will they get the easy peasy kickbacks,those chinks are atleast using their weaponry,we need cutting edge technology from the west but whats the point when we don't learn a thing after spending billions in imports for years

 

[patriots]

Tell this to IAF. They want it equipped with A2A as well as A2G capability. Anyway the thought of having attack helos with IAF is simply illogical. But if you are giving them that, you need to give them package too.
DRDO & HAL on their part delayed the whole integration process of HELINA which even prompted IA to ask for Mistral integration as it would serve their purpose as well.

Helina integration is not a problem...
Helina is not production ready.........helina user trial will complete this year may ...there after integration.....
Bdw which a2a missile mi35 carries

 

[Bleh]

but whats the point when we don't learn a thing after spending billions in imports for years

Mostly due to years of mismanagement by bad governments... Look at the progress we've made in last 5 years only!.. Chinks have had that for 50 years.

 

[Ultramarine]

A2A is being asked for by IAF for anti-drone and anti-heptr roles. The military is cognisant of the fact that drones will play a big role in any war and hence the insistence. The primary weapon though for anti-drone operation will be the 20mm canon on the LCH/Rudra while the mistrals will be employed as a last ditch measure and also when the enemy drone/heptr is making a getaway after being spotted.

 

[Bleh]

The real good news is HELINA integration will be completed in the next few months. Or else...

...Replace the with 2 Mistral AAMs & a Littlebird Recon Helicopter, actually carries more 70mm rockets than LCH. Lol.

 

[Apollyon]

LCH looks like a plastic toy not a war machine.

 

[Bleh]

LCH looks like a plastic toy not a war machine.

Not to worry. Probably got your inferiority complex to blame for that one bud!.. IAF ordering just 22 Apaches & planning 114 of these is proof of the platform's potential.

I literally just shat on its armament, but "looks like a plastic toy" is only because it wasn't designed by goras.
...Speaking of Goras, the OG light attack helicopter, the one & only Bell AH-1G Cobra carried a coaxial grenade launcher. Couldn't LCH too use one of those against sporadic infantry, its main high altitude target?

 

[Defcon 1]

LCH looks like a plastic toy not a war machine.

How long after you posting? Welcome back anyways

 

[Apollyon]

How long after you posting? Welcome back anyways

 

[WolfPack86]

LCH Order in the final leg, Delivery of 15 LSP Attack Helicopters in early 2021: HAL Chairman

HAL chairman R Madhavan has told livefistdefence.com that final contract for 15 limited series production (LSP) HAL designed Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) multi-role combat helicopter is in the final leg and as soon as the contract is linked, all 15 LCH Helicopters will be delivered by 2021-22 timeframe as HAL already has developed 9 frames of LCH before the contract was inked with its internal fund and assembly and integration work will be completed in next six months and the first batch will be ready to induction by early or mid-2021 onwards.

In 2017, Late Defence Minister Arun Jaitley had inaugurated the new Bengaluru helicopter complex for the production of the indigenous design Light Combat Helicopter (LCH). In 2016, the defence ministry had cleared a Rs 2,911-crore procurement of 15 LCHs as a “limited series production” (LSP) order but the final contract was never executed.

HAL claims that it can manufacture 30 LCH in a year once the contract for 150 LCH is to be inked by the Indian Army and Indian Air Force after the execution of 15 LSP contracts. Indian Army has committed to order 114 LCHs, and the Indian Air Force another 65, which includes 15 LSP LCH which will be ordered soon.

According to information provided to idrw.org, Each LCH costs half the price of AH-64E Apache attack helicopters the Indian Air Force (IAF) has bought from Boeing, US. Like AH-64E, LCH in the production variant will come in Two or three variants both for the air force and Army. Some later variants will come with new indigenous fire control radar which will have several modes and long-range detection capability against the land, air, and sea targets, and come will come without them.

Future and probably last batch of LCH variants will also get a much-needed jolt in capability as LCH crew will be able to control over different armed reconnaissance systems which will be equipped with a two-way data link system so that sensors, flight path, and targets of the armed reconnaissance systems can be monitored by LCH crew flying in the same area away from hostile fire.

LCH Order in the final leg, Delivery of 15 LSP Attack Helicopters in early 2021: HAL Chairman – Indian Defence Research Wing

idrw.org