HAL Prachand - Light Combat Helicopter (LCH)

[R A Varun]

• How did China figure out we landed LCH at DBO ? It either means China has clear LoS and observation to DBO, or China has credible intel sources on our side.
  
  
• The article mentions that the LCH camera detects the heating pitot tube as an infrared signature and jams it ! Interesting, does that mean the EO-sensor mounted atop the nose has some kind of self-protection system ?
  
  
• The story of Army's mentality over resisting LCH access to DBO purely shows how deep the army has buried its head inside the ground. China does patrolling using Z-9 near and here they are afraid of even deploying LCH at DBO.

They are afraid because they don't have the numbers, once they have the numbers, they will screw down the chinese with counter patrols. that is a strategic decision to delay the fight on enemy grounds, china now wants the fight with india as it knows india cannot push back deep into the tibet, while it also knows, delaying the fight only strengthens the Indian military strength and position aginst it's own armed forces. that is why they want every single excuse to start a war, and Indian generals know when not to start a war.

 

[jai jaganath]

They are afraid because they don't have the numbers, once they have the numbers, they will screw down the chinese with counter patrols. that is a strategic decision to delay the fight on enemy grounds, china now wants the fight with india as it knows india cannot push back deep into the tibet, while it also knows, delaying the fight only strengthens the Indian military strength and position aginst it's own armed forces. that is why they want every single excuse to start a war, and Indian generals know when not to start a war.

But sorry to say it's opposite
Delaying the war will tilt the result towards them not us

 

[dfcool]

taking a little jab at new helicopter by pappu media.

Prachand, India’s new Light Combat Helicopter, doesn’t yet have main arsenal or protection suite

Prachand, India's new Light Combat Helicopter, doesn't yet have main arsenal or protection suite

IAF inducted new helicopter Monday, but it'll get anti-tank guided missile only by mid-2023, while air-to-air missiles haven't yet been ordered, it is learnt.

theprint.in

 

[Hari Sud]

Tell me whether it is true that the LCH just delivered to the armed forces does not have its array of tank buster missiles or electronic counter measures suit to protect it from incoming threats.

How serious are these short comings?

The Print article says that missiles will get integrated by mid 2023 and electronic suit installed by about the same time. What was the reason of delay or nobody coordinating with each other to get all systems ready concurrently?

That is how government departments operate; nobody tells the other of each other’s progress.

 

[abingdonboy]

• How did China figure out we landed LCH at DBO ? It either means China has clear LoS and observation to DBO, or China has credible intel sources on our side.
  
  
• The article mentions that the LCH camera detects the heating pitot tube as an infrared signature and jams it ! Interesting, does that mean the EO-sensor mounted atop the nose has some kind of self-protection system ?
  
  
• The story of Army's mentality over resisting LCH access to DBO purely shows how deep the army has buried its head inside the ground. China does patrolling using Z-9 near and here they are afraid of even deploying LCH at DBO.

China surely monitors air movements at DBO very closely and it wouldn’t be hard for them to at least have primary radar coverage there

on the pitot tube part I think it’s a bit poorly phrased. What they mean to say is the pitot tube was causing issues with the EO/IR ball- ‘jamming’ it in the sense that it was performing poorer. It doesn’t make sense the other way around, the EO/IR ball is a passive sensor

on the last point yup, 100%. Indian generals are on the whole impotent and conditioned to be timid and subservient to the status quo. Junior ranks might have some aggressive dudes but that isn’t rewarded to go upwards.

 

[abingdonboy]

a) I think simpler explanation of Air defence Radars picked up when heli approached DBO?
b)I think what officer says in article that
Prachand EO -sensor used to lock onto heat emitted by pitot tube. Seems to the heat source was too close - that effectively overwhelms EO sensor(jams it) .. something akin to white noise. So they had to relocate tube in such position that its heat did not interfere with EO sensor yet accurately calculates air speed.

Yeah, you can see now where the pitot tubes are located is pretty extreme.

just one of those things that goes into engineering and kudos to the kind of collaborative efforts between designers and engineers for getting all these things in a line. We all know the Indian military would like nothing more than to pick holes in these products and find a reason to scrap them

 

[abingdonboy]

taking a little jab at new helicopter by pappu media.

Prachand, India’s new Light Combat Helicopter, doesn’t yet have main arsenal or protection suite

Prachand, India's new Light Combat Helicopter, doesn't yet have main arsenal or protection suite

IAF inducted new helicopter Monday, but it'll get anti-tank guided missile only by mid-2023, while air-to-air missiles haven't yet been ordered, it is learnt.

theprint.in

The print never misses an opportunity to talk down india but in this instance they are spot on

No self protection suite whatsoever- according to HAL CMD this is being tested (IADS-3 from saab) and will be ready for LCH certification in the next few months (not sure if they’ll fit this onto LSP airframes but it would make sense to do so)

ATGM- IA/IAF have inexplicably failed to select a foreign ATGM for the LCH so that HAL could integrate it. All the talk about PARS-3 never lead anywhere. On the domestic ATGM front- HELINA/SANT seem to be in perpetual trails so I couldn’t even speculate when it’ll be ready for service or when production for it will begin, i wouldn’t think so for at least 3-5 years.

that said I’d much rather the armed forces took this approach- induct first and get everything up to 100% in service then wait 10++ years for all your requirements to be matched to a tee

 

[Aditya Ballal]

The print never misses an opportunity to talk down india but in this instance they are spot on

No self protection suite whatsoever- according to HAL CMD this is being tested (IADS-3 from saab) and will be ready for LCH certification in the next few months (not sure if they’ll fit this onto LSP airframes but it would make sense to do so)

ATGM- IA/IAF have inexplicably failed to select a foreign ATGM for the LCH so that HAL could integrate it. All the talk about PARS-3 never lead anywhere. On the domestic ATGM front- HELINA/SANT seem to be in perpetual trails so I couldn’t even speculate when it’ll be ready for service or when production for it will begin, i wouldn’t think so for at least 3-5 years.

that said I’d much rather the armed forces took this approach- induct first and get everything up to 100% in service then wait 10++ years for all your requirements to be matched to a tee

When was PARS-3 ever in contention? I thought it was always LAHAT or Spike in case of an interim foreign ATGM, also considering early Rudra prototypes were displayed with quad-packed LAHATs.

 

[prateikf]

The below article from 2019 too mentioned on the LCH lack of missiles. 3 years later too things still stand the same.

Is Someone Trying To Derail The Arming Of India’s Rudra?

Armed with launchers but no missiles, fresh deadline puts Army’s unarmed Rudra copters on notice, slow crawl in weaponisation effort.

www.livefistdefence.com

 

[binayak95]

• How did China figure out we landed LCH at DBO ? It either means China has clear LoS and observation to DBO, or China has credible intel sources on our side.
  
  
• The article mentions that the LCH camera detects the heating pitot tube as an infrared signature and jams it ! Interesting, does that mean the EO-sensor mounted atop the nose has some kind of self-protection system ?
  
  
• The story of Army's mentality over resisting LCH access to DBO purely shows how deep the army has buried its head inside the ground. China does patrolling using Z-9 near and here they are afraid of even deploying LCH at DBO.

Just like we fly ELINT birds on our side, they do too. and yes, the MSS has extremely good HUMINT.

 

[Tiwariji]

Great addition to our power in Laddakh

'LCH Outperformed Other Aircraft In Ladakh'

All of India welcomes the Light Combat Helicopter into the Armed Forces arsenal and wishes it a safe tenure and happy shooting. May it rule the skies and ensure that the enemies are given a fitting reply when the need arises.

m.rediff.com

 

[abingdonboy]

When was PARS-3 ever in contention? I thought it was always LAHAT or Spike in case of an interim foreign ATGM, also considering early Rudra prototypes were displayed with quad-packed LAHATs.
View attachment 174280

Pars-3 was always being spoken about as the likely winner

But these things are from so long ago that it’s basically irrelevant

MBDA’s PARS 3 LR short listed for Indian Army procurement project | Press Release | MBDA

MBDA´s PARS 3 LR guided missile system has been short listed for the Indian Army helicopter future air-to-ground requirement.

www.mbda-systems.com

 

[aspdeepak]

I am sorry if i ask too much, can we ever compete with US in defence, think about worst situation when US wants to attack India, is we able to defend ourselves ? down the line in next 30-40 years this might situation arrive. Are we thinking in this line also ?

You are so paranoid!

You can also start worrying about Russia attacking us along with US

PS: I'm still wondering, How is this related to HAL Prachand - LCH discussion?

 

[TopWatcher]

You are so paranoid!

You can also start worrying about Russia attacking us along with US

PS: I'm still wondering, How is this related to HAL Prachand - LCH discussion?

Just asking

 

[NutCracker]

Just asking

You asked same question on 3 .. 3 f'king thread.. you okay bud ??

 

[TopWatcher]

You asked same question on 3 .. 3 f'king thread.. you okay bud ??

I wished at least i get answer from somewhere. @MOD please delete my post.

 

[WolfPack86]

HAL Light Combat Helicopter to get its main weapon “Dhruvastra” in 2023

The HAL Light Combat Helicopter “Prachand” was officially inducted into the Indian Air Force yesterday, but it will take at least one more year to arm this gunship with its originally planned weapon, the Dhruvastra Air-to-surface/Anti-tank Guided Missile. The LCH has the capacity to carry 16 units of Dhruvastra ATGMs. Recent reports says that this advanced ATGM will be cleared for operational usage in mid-2023.

The HAL Light Combat Helicopter is a new multi-role, lightweight helicopter designed and developed by the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited. This Helicopter will serve with the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force in a force-multiplier role.

The LCH is designed to perform various different types of missions such as anti-tank, anti-armour, air defense, anti-infantry, counter-insurgency operations and offensive role in Urban Warfare.

The LCH had inherited many of its technical features from one of HAL’s earlier indigenous rotorcraft, commonly known as the HAL Dhruv. Shared elements between the two helicopters include the power-plant used, both being powered by a pair of co-developed HAL/Turbomeca Shakti-1H1 derived from Safran Ardiden turboshaft engines, albeit fitted with infrared suppressors.

The features that are unique to the rotorcraft includes its narrow fuselage, a crashworthy tricycle landing gear arrangement, crashworthy self-sealing fuel tanks, armour protection, and a low visibility profile; these design elements have been attributed as having resulted in a relatively lethal, agile and survivable rotorcraft.

Atypically for a combat helicopter, it is also capable of high-altitude warfare (HAW), possessing an in-service operational ceiling of 6,000–6,500 metres (19,700–21,300 ft).

The Indian Defense Research Wing has recently released information about the Main Weapon induction on the LCH, they have published the following information : “The Indian Air Force and the Indian Army might have inducted indigenously-developed “Prachand” Light Combat Helicopter in its fleet but the LCH still does not come with its main air-launched weapon, which is the Dhruvastra Air-launched Anti-tank guided missile.

HAL plans to start integration trails of the Dhruvastra Helicopter-launched ATGM by the end of this year and this ATGM is expected to be officially introduced on the LCH by mid-2023. The Dhruvastra is a 3rd generation ATGM loaded with state-of-the-art technologies”.

The HAL Light Combat Helicopter is currently armed with one 20 mm M621 cannon on Nexter THL-20 turret, 12 Thales FZ275 Laser-guided Rockets, 8 French Mistral infrared-homing short range air defense missiles or 16 ATGMs. The gunship also has the capacity to carry grenade launchers, unguided bombs and cluster munitions.


The FZ275 LGR weapon system carried by the LCH is developed by Thales, these rockets provide a low-cost guided missile compatible with existing unguided 70mm rocket launch platforms.

About the Dhruvastra Air-launched Anti-tank Guided Missile

The Dhruvastra is a helicopter-launched version of the NAG ATGM with a extended range and improved subsystems, it is also known as HELINA. It is launched from twin-tube stub wing-mounted launchers or quad-rail launchers on board HAL Rudra helicopters and HAL Light Combat Helicopters (LCH) manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).

It is structurally different from Nag and is guided by an infrared imaging seeker (IIR) operating in the lock-on-before-launch mode for target engagement.

The first ground launch of the missile to check lock-on after launch (LOAL) capability were conducted in 2011 during which the missile was locked onto a target and launched.

The Dhruvastra anti-tank guided missile has the capacity to use direct and top attack mode during attacking its targets.

Dhruvastra has a range of 7 km which is said to put the enemy tank commanders in curved terrain at severe disadvantages. The missile weighs only 43 kg which will not cause any burden in limiting conditions of the rarefied atmosphere over Ladakh.

In terms of firepower, Dhruvastra can penetrate armour as thick as 800mm which is more than enough for penetrating the armor of the light and medium weight tanks operated in the frontier.

defenceview.in

This domain may be for sale!

www.defenceview.in

 

[Sanatani]

I am sorry if i ask too much, can we ever compete with US in defence, think about worst situation when US wants to attack India, is we able to defend ourselves ? down the line in next 30-40 years this might situation arrive. Are we thinking in this line also ?

Looks like this post was meant for jokes thread.

 

[TopWatcher]

Looks like this post was meant for jokes thread.

This is not joke, mark my word in 10-20 years this going to be true.

 

[Vinash]

This is not joke, mark my word in 10-20 years this going to be true.

They won't ever do a direct invasion.

They'll use Pakistan, Indian Muslims and a remote possibility of Christians in North-East to fuel separatist movements.