Under the Atma Nirbhar Abhiyan, or Make-In-India initiative, India has continuously focused on building its capability by designing, developing, and manufacturing indigenously advanced defence technologies and systems, the government said.
On Monday, the Indian Air Force witnessed the commissioning of the first Indian-made light combat helicopters in the presence of the Union Defense Minister, Rajnath Singh. On Sunday, the defence minister stated that the induction would be a “significant addition” to the IAF’s “combat capability.”
In a tweet, the defence minister said, “I will be in Jodhpur, Rajasthan tomorrow, October 3, to attend the first indigenous Light Combat Helicopters (LCH) induction ceremony. The induction of these helicopters will give a major boost to the IAF’s combat capability. “I am looking forward to it.”
The Chief of Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari, will also attend the event.
All-weather combat capability, high altitude, agility, maneuverability, and extended range are some of the features of the Light Combat Helicopters. Developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited ( HAL), the helicopters are also said to have armour protection, night attack capability, and crash landing for better survivability. The Indian Air Force gave a glimpse of these helicopters on its Twitter handle.
The helicopter can also be used against slow-moving aircraft and remotely piloted aircraft (RPAs) of adversaries. Officials said it would be a potent platform to meet the operational requirements of the IAF and the Indian Army. They said state-of-the-art technologies and systems compatible with stealth features such as reduced visual, aural, radar and IR signatures and crashworthiness features for better survivability have been integrated into the LCH for deployment in combat roles.
