HAL Prachand - Light Combat Helicopter (LCH)

patriots

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Are you sure about the weight of dhruvastra launcher ?
Because each missile weighs 45kg
That would mean that the 2 missile launch assembly weighs a whopping 80kg
By contrast each spike er weighs 34kg
And a 4 missile launcher weighs 55kg for a total weight of 191 kg
It's probably why iaf and ia want spike for lch because it would be able to carry more missiles in high altitude
The helina weights 45 kg ....but I don't know about the dhruvstra weight,I have just copied from brf
 

johnq

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The Apache cannot take off from Leh with that full loadout of 16 ATGM (I doubt it can take off with 8 at that altitude) listed in the Forbes article, and it mistakenly lists the LCH as only having 4 ATGM maximum, when it can carry a maximum of 12, 4 each on the inner pylons and 2 each on the outer pylons. The article doesn't seem well researched.
 
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BangaliBabu

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The Apache cannot take off from Leh with that full loadout of 16 ATGM listed in the Forbes article, and it mistakenly lists the LCH as only having 4 ATGM maximum, when it can carry a maximum of 12, 4 each on the inner pylons and 2 each on the outer pylons. The article doesn't seem well researched.
Forbes has always been a little inclined towards......you know. When F16 and F18 got their asses handed in the MMRCA-1 competition, Forbes, among others, did put out a long rant against us.
 

Haldilal

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What is CF
What is CFD??????
A fill device or key loader is a module used to load cryptographic Keys into electronic encryption machines. Fill devices are usually hand held and electronic ones are battery operated.
 

Troll

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Bleh

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Are you sure about the weight of dhruvastra launcher ?
Because each missile weighs 45kg
That would mean that the 2 missile launch assembly weighs a whopping 80kg
By contrast each spike er weighs 34kg
And a 4 missile launcher weighs 55kg for a total weight of 191 kg
It's probably why iaf and ia want spike for lch because it would be able to carry more missiles in high altitude
Good point. It is possible. Heliba/Dhruvastra are much bigger systems with larger fuel & warhead, as well as TVC mechanisms. But high-altitude will need lighter ATGMs that can be carried in more numbers in thin air.
...The article doesn't seem well researched.
*gasp* Surprise. Surprise.
What is CF
What is CFD??????
Chaff & flare (misture) dispenser.
 

Pulkit

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Nice name it was also one of contender before we were asked to shut the hell up and stop it. But now I think we can definitely discuss the names since it is being inducted now.
Just need to clarify one small point.

LCH has been deployed along with Apache --> Agreed, but does it mean it's been officially inducted into Defense forces?
 

patriots

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Just need to clarify one small point.

LCH has been deployed along with Apache --> Agreed, but does it mean it's been officially inducted into Defense forces?
Not officially inducted.....
These are hal lchs...under iaf command.....
 

Pulkit

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Not officially inducted.....
These are hal lchs...under iaf command.....
I am aware of that my friend Flying.
China's issue has become a trial zone for LCH and LCA now.

I wish to see LUH also here along with a lot more desi products deployed.
 

patriots

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I am aware of that my friend Flying.
China's issue has become a trial zone for LCH and LCA now.

I wish to see LUH also here along with a lot more desi products deployed.
Bro....we lch....luh and lca in large numbers...
But problem is that we cannot produce them faster.....

There was lengthy discussion why rudra and lch doesn't have helina...
Fact is that...if iaf and army agree to arm the prototype version ....do we have system to produce 200+ them in a short time....
The production partner with ask others for raw materials and various subsystem s......and it will take time....
 

Pulkit

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Bro....we lch....luh and lca in large numbers...
But problem is that we cannot produce them faster.....

There was lengthy discussion why rudra and lch doesn't have helina...
Fact is that...if iaf and army agree to arm the prototype version ....do we have system to produce 200+ them in a short time....
The production partner with ask others for raw materials and various subsystem s......and it will take time....
I am not asking for more in terms of quantity. I am asking to bring all desi products here 1,2,3 in what ever number they exist and test them here.....

2 LCH are not gonna have a major impact in war but it still gives a boost.
 

samsaptaka

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give it the name Gaumata. At least, people will thrash the Chinese openly if and when one falls down due to Chinki eagerness, before the intolerance and candlelight-march gang gears up.
So the namakaranam game starts again eh ? 'Jatayu' is my proposal :)
 

abingdonboy

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For Mountain War Against China, Is India’s LCH Helicopter Superior To America’s AH-64E Apache?
Tuesday, August 18, 2020
By: Forbes



India has deployed attack helicopters to a disputed region in the Himalayan mountains.

But India isn’t sending its new U.S.-made AH-64E Apache s, arguably the most lethal attack helicopter in the world. Instead, India has dispatched an Indian-designed helicopter that the Indian military considers more suitable for operating at high altitudes.

Two Light Combat Helicopters, or LCH, have been dispatched to the Ladakh region, where Indian and Chinese troops engaged in border clashes in June. The Indian military has so far ordered 30 LCHs, from Indian aviation firm HAL.

“LCH is a potent weapon platform because of its state-of-the-art systems and highly accurate weapons that are capable of hitting any type of target by day or night,” said a HAL news release. “The other features of LCH include its ability to operate in the complete ‘Area of Responsibility’ (AOR) and altitudes. It has capability to carry adequate weapon load at high altitudes under varied conditions. All these characteristics make it most suitable for hot and high altitude operations.”

What’s interesting is that India has another attack helicopter: the U.S. AH-64E Apache, arguably the most advanced attack helicopter in the world. India recently took delivery of the last of 22 Apaches, part of a $3 billion deal signed in 2015 that also included 17 CH-47 Chinook helicopters (the Trump administration recently agreed to deliver another six AH-64Es).

The Apache is an impressive and combat-proven flying machine, with its Hellfire anti-tank missiles and Longbow fire control radar. The Indian AH-64E Guardian version features a more powerful engine, better data networking and improved composite rotor blades. Compared to the LCH, the Apache is faster, has more engine power and carries far more weapons, though the LCH has longer range (here’s a comparison between the LCH and the older AH-64D model).

However, high altitudes are challenging for rotary-wing aircraft. For example, U.S. Apache pilots operating over mountainous Afghanistan in 2002, flying as high as 12,500 feet above sea level and in temperatures ranging from 5 degrees to 122 degrees Fahrenheit, had to take extra precautions. “Performance planning was a critical part of each mission,” wrote one pilot. “Each mission required performance planning for altitudes, temperatures, and gross weights that were much higher than we normally operate.”

The Ladakh plateau of the Himalayan mountains, where China and India both claim territory, is 10,000 feet or more above sea level. For armored vehicles, the climate and terrain are so inhospitable that Indian tanks deployed there require special lubricants and must constantly run their engines to avoid freezing.

But the LCH has demonstrated an ability to operate in these conditions. In 2015, an LCH conducted several test landings on the Siachen glacier on Ladahk, at altitudes up to 15,800 feet while carrying a modest 500-kilogram (1,102 pound) load.

While the AH-64E can fly at altitudes up to 20,000 feet, Indian commentators argue that the LCH is more suitable for the Himalayas. “While the Apaches would do well in the plains, they would have limitations operating in the upper reaches of the Himalayas,” wrote one former Indian Air Force commander. “During the Kargil War of 1999, there was a need felt for armed attack helicopters capable of operating at high altitude. That’s where the LCH fits in. It has successfully been tested in altitudes over 13,000 feet and was the first attack helicopter to land at the forward landing base in Siachen.”

But there is a price to be paid for high-altitude performance. The most striking difference between the AH-64 and the LCH is in their armament. The Apache is a flying arsenal that packs a 30-millimeter cannon and up to 16 Hellfire missiles and Hydra 70-millimeter unguided rockets. The LCH is more lightly armed with a lighter 20-millimeter cannon and up to four missiles or rockets. “The Indian LCHs, which are currently equipped with 70mm rockets and chin-mounted cannons, do not yet have anti-tank and air-to-air missiles,” noted the Times of India.

Against armor on open ground, India’s Apaches would devastate Chinese and Pakistani tanks. But in the Himalayas, where terrain and climate conspire to limit troop deployments, a flying arsenal probably isn’t needed. Just an armed helicopter that can fly above the mountains.
There are a lot of inaccuracies in this article

0 LCH have been ordered by the Indian military, the article mentions 30 have been but DAC has only cleared 15 LSP airframes ( that HAL has commenced fabrication of)

15 CH-47F were ordered by the IAF, not 17

LCH can carry 12 ATGMs, not limited to 4 as article states
 

abingdonboy

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Just need to clarify one small point.

LCH has been deployed along with Apache --> Agreed, but does it mean it's been officially inducted into Defense forces?
No it hasn’t been inducted, it hasn’t even been freaking ordered!

those 2 that were deployed in Ladakh are HAL owned and operated prototypes (TD 3/4) flown by HAL pilot
 

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