Army First Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) squadron

In News 

Recently ,The Army has moved its first Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) squadron to Missamari, Assam, in the eastern sector near the Line of Actual Control (LAC). 

  • The Air Force raised its first LCH squadron at Jodhpur in October 2022.

About  Army First Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) 

  • It is India’s first indigenously designed and developed attack helicopter.
  • It  is also the first dedicated attack helicopter operated by the Army.
  • The Army LCH will be armed with a 20 mm nose gun, 70 mm rockets, helicopter-launched anti-tank guided missile and a new air-to-air missile different from the ‘Mistral-2’ from MBDA on the IAF LCH. 

Light Combat Helicopter (LCH)

  • The twin-engine LCH designed and developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is a 5-8 tonne class dedicated combat helicopter conceptualised after the 1999 Kargil conflict. 
  • The helicopter has a combat radius of 500 km and a service ceiling of 21,000 feet which makes it ideal to operate at high-altitude areas including Siachen glacier.
  • In March 2020, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) approved procurement of 15 Limited Series Production (LSP) variants of LCH at the cost of ?3,887 crore along with infrastructure sanctions worth ?377 crore. 
    • Of the 15 helicopters, 10 are for IAF and five for the Army.

Source:TH