Article Posted on : - Aug 28, 2017

Union Minister of Defence,Finance and Corporate Affairs Arun Jaitely having word with a pilot during the launch of the production of HAL designed LCH and dedicate the Hawk-I to the Nation at HAL airport in Bengaluru on Saturday. A PTI Photo.

BENGALURU (PTI): Indian Defence Minister Arun Jaitley has announced the launch of the production of HAL-designed 5.8-tonne category Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) here.

It was cleared for procurement by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) few months ago.

He also dedicated the company's "role changer" design upgrade programme of Hawk-I to the nation.

HAL's Rotary Wing R&D Centre has designed the LCH, whereas the Mission and Combat System R&D Centre (MCSRDC) has designed the Hawk-I in association with the Aircraft Division.

The basic version of LCH has been cleared by the Centre for Military Airworthiness and Certification (CEMILAC), and the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has accorded the approval for the procurement of 15 LCH from HAL under Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured (IDDM) category.

Accordingly, the production was launched on Saturday.

Lauding HAL for I and LCH, Jaitley said, "We are moving in the right direction in evolving ourselves into a major manufacturing hub, and in this context Saturday's experience has been encouraging."

HAL officials said its twin engine LCH of 5.8 tonne class featuring narrow fuselage and tandem configuration for pilot and co-pilot/weapon system operator, and the helicopter has indigenous state-of-the-art technologies like integrated dynamic system, bearing less Tail Rotor, anti-resonance vibration isolation system, crash worthy landing gear, smart glass cockpit, hinge less main rotor, Armour Protection and stealth features from visual, aural, radar and IR signatures.

The helicopter is equipped with 20mm Turret gun, 70 mm Rocket, Air to Air Missile, EO-Pod and Helmet pointing system, and can carry out operational roles under extreme weather conditions at different altitudes, hot weather desert, cold weather and Himalayan altitudes.

The LCH has demonstrated capability to land and lift off from Siachen Range with considerable load, fuel and weapons that are beyond any other combat helicopter.

On Hawk-I ( Hawk-India), HAL officials said the company took up the indigenous role change development program to convert the jet trainer into a combat-ready platform.

They said Hawk-I is capable of delivering precision Munitions including Air to Ground and close combat weapons, self defence capabilities through Electronic Warfare (EW) systems, digital map generator and operational reliability through new Dual Hot stand-by Mission Computer Avionics architecture supported by indigenous high accuracy and high Altitude Radio Altimeter, among others.

The aircraft was flown during the 2017 Aero India here with lot of appreciation from users.

The integration of indigenous HUD, RLG based INS and Anti Airfield Missile is in advance stage.