HAL Light Combat Helicopter (India)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HAL_Li...bat_Helicopter

The HAL Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) is an Indian multirole combat helicopter
developed and manufactured by Indian aerospace manufacturer Hindustan
Aeronautics Limited (HAL). It has been ordered for both the Indian Air Force and
the Indian Army. The type is also intended to be sold upon the export market,
since 2015, HAL has been seeking other customers for the LCH.

The impetus for the development of the LCH came in the form of the Kargil War, a
conflict fought between India and neighbouring Pakistan in 1999, which revealed
the Indian armed forces to lack a suitable armed rotorcraft capable of operating
unrestricted in the high-altitude theatre. Accordingly, both HAL and the Indian
armed forces commenced explorative efforts towards the defining of a conceptual
combat helicopter to perform in this role. During 2006, the company announced
that it had launched a development programme to produce such a rotorcraft,
referred to simply as the Light Combat Helicopter. Originally, the LCH was
anticipated to attain initial operating capability (IOC) by December 2010,
however, development of the type was protracted and subject to several delays,
some of which having been attributed to suppliers.

The LCH drew extensively on an earlier indigenous helicopter developed and
manufactured by HAL, the Dhruv; using this rotorcraft as a starting point has
been attributed as significantly reducing the cost of the programme. On 29 March
2010, the first LCH prototype performed its maiden flight. An extensive test
programme, involving a total of four prototypes, was conducted. During the
course of these tests, the LCH gained the distinction of being the first attack
helicopter to land in Siachen, having repeatedly landed at several high altitude
helipads, some of which being as high as 13,600 feet to 15,800 feet. During mid
2016, the LCH was recognised as having completed its performance trials, paving
way for the certification of its basic configuration. On 26 August 2017, limited
series production of the LCH was formally inaugurated.

Origins

During the late 1990s, India and neighbouring nation Pakistan engaged in a brief
but intensely-fought conflict commonly known as the Kargil War. This war, in
which various elements of the Indian military were deployed, revealed
operational shortcomings and areas for improvement, particularly the requirement
for an attack helicopter that would be suitable for use within the high altitude
climates in which some combat operations were fought along the north-western
border region. Accordingly, there was considerable interest in not only the
acquisition of a suitable contemporary rotorcraft for the task (as well as to
replace several aging types in Indian military service, such as the Cheetah and
Chetak), but for such an aircraft to be domestically developed and manufactured
in India as well.

During early 2004, Indian aerospace manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics Limited
(HAL) declared that the company was in the midst of discussions with the Indian
armed forces on the prospects for a potential light combat helicopter derivative
of the company's existing Dhruv utility helicopter platform for the requirement.
During late 2004, the Indian armed forces decided to curtail plans to order
foreign-built attack helicopters in anticipation of a decision to formally
select the tentative LCH.[7] During 2006, HAL publicly announced that it had
embarked upon the development of such an attack helicopter, which it referred to
as the Light Combat Helicopter (LCH). During late 2006, the Indian government
decided to aid the fledgling programme via the issuing of external finance to
support the design phase of the LCH's development, this was done as to aid the
attack helicopter in conforming with the established requirements of the Indian
Army and the Indian Air Force.

The LCH is a derivative of the HAL Dhruv, which had been developed during the
1990s and inducted into the Indian Armed Forces during the 2000s. Basing the LCH
on an existing helicopter is expected to greatly reduce the associated costs of
the programme, which was estimated to be roughly ?376 crore (US$54.4 million) in
2010. By 2010, the Indian Air Force was reportedly set to acquire 65 LCHs while
the Indian Army was to also procure 114 LCHs for its own purposes.

Role
Attack helicopter

National origin
India

Manufacturer
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited

First flight
29 March 2010

Status
In production

Primary users
Indian Army
Indian Air Force

Produced
2010–present

Number built
4

Program cost
?376 crore (US$54 million)

Unit cost

US$20.2 million

Developed from
HAL Dhruv

During November 2016, the Indian Ministry of Defense (MoD) authorised the
purchase of an initial batch of 15 LCHs for the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the
Indian Army Air Corps (AAC), referred to as being a limited series production
order. By mid-2017, the AAC had placed combined orders for 114 LCHs, while the
IAF had a total of 65 LCHs on order. During early 2017, it was reported that the
LCH's initial operating capability (IOC) with the Indian armed forces was
expected to occur by 2018. The AAC intended to deploy the indigenous LCH
alongside the American-built Boeing AH-64 Apache attack helicopter.

Achieving export sales for the LCH has been a stated priority of both HAL and
the Indian government. During mid-2016, a spokesperson for the Indian Defence
Ministry stated the ministry was in the progress of holding discussions with
several unidentified African nations on the topic of the LCH.

Specifications

General characteristics
Crew: 2
Length: 15.8 m (51 ft 10 in)
Wingspan: 4.60 m (15 ft 1 in)
Height: 4.70 m (15 ft 5 in)
Max takeoff weight: 5,800 kg (12,787 lb)
Payload: 700 kg (1,500 lb) weapons
Powerplant: 2 × HAL/Turbomeca Shakti turboshaft, 1,032 kW (1,384 shp) each
derated to 798 kW (1,070 shp)
Main rotor diameter: 13.2 m (43 ft 4 in)

Performance
Maximum speed: 269 km/h; 167 mph (145 kn)
Never exceed speed: 330 km/h; 205 mph (178 kn)
Range: 550 km (342 mi; 297 nmi) with weapons
Endurance: 3 hours 10 minutes
Service ceiling: 6,500 m (21,300 ft)
Rate of climb: 12 m/s (2,400 ft/min)

Armament

Guns: 20 mm M621 cannon on Nexter THL-20 turret
Hardpoints: Four with provisions to carry combinations of: Rockets: 70 mm FZ or
Thales rocket pods
Missiles: Two-round Mistral-2 air-to-air missiles or four-round Helina (planned)
Bombs: Cluster bombs, unguided bombs or grenade launchers


Avionics

Elbit CoMPASS optoelectronic suite
Missile approach warning system
Saab radar and laser warning system
Chaff and flare dispensers




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