LCH in the Air Force: Tomorrow 3rd October i.e. Monday is a very important day for the country. It is a very important day especially in the direction of self-reliance in the air-power and defense sector. The Light Combat Helicopter (LACH) will be formally inducted into the Air Force on Monday in the presence of Defense Minister Rajnath Singh. Notably, the first indigenous attack helicopter of the Indian Air Force will be deployed near the LCH border in Jodhpur and the Defense Minister himself will hand over the LCH to the Air Force at a military ceremony on Monday.
The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had approved the purchase of 15 indigenous Light Attack Helicopters (LCH) in March this year. These helicopters have been purchased from HAL for 3387 crores. Of these, 10 helicopters are for the Air Force and 05 for the Indian Army.
According to the Indian Army, HAL has handed over two Light Combat Helicopters to the LCH Aviation Corps. The LCH is the country’s first attack helicopter manufactured by the state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL).
Benefits of LCH?
The Light Combat Helicopter ie LCH Helicopter weighs about 6 tons. So it is very light, whereas the Apache helicopter from America weighs about 10 tons. Due to its low weight, the LCH can take off and land at high altitudes with its missiles and other weapons.
The LCH Attack Helicopter ‘Mistral’ air-to-air missile and air-to-surface missile are exclusively imported from France.
The LCH has two pods of 12 70 mm rockets. Apart from this, the LCA has a 20 mm gun, which can rotate 110 degrees in any direction.
All the features of the cockpit are displayed on the helmet of the pilot.
After the Kargil War, India had decided to develop an indigenous LCH helicopter. Because at that time India did not have such an attack helicopter that could go up to a height of 15-16 thousand feet and destroy enemy bunkers. This project was approved in 2006.
After 15 years of hard work, this light combat helicopter has been made.
According to HAL i.e. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, LCH has such stealth features that it cannot be easily detected by enemy radar. If an enemy helicopter or fighter jet locks its missile on the LCH, it can miss. This indigenous LCH helicopter has been tested from the Siachen Glacier to the desert of Rajasthan.
