LCH Prachand to be part of Air Force Day fly-past

PTI, Oct 4, 2022, 7:34 PM IST

Image Courtesy: Twitter/Rajnath Singh

New Delhi: Indigenously-built Light Combat Helicopter (LCH), ‘Prachand’, is set to showcase its aerial prowess during the Air Force Day fly-past on October 8 in Chandigarh.

The LCH will be among a range of aircraft and helicopters to be deployed for the Air Force Day fly-past at the Sukhna Lake complex in Chandigarh, officials said.

For the first time, Air Force Day celebrations are being held outside the Delhi NCR.

Officials said besides the LCH Prachand, various other aircraft including Light Combat Aircraft Tejas, Sukhoi, Mig-29, Jaguar, Rafale, IL-76, C-130J and Hawk will be part of the fly-past.

Among helicopters, Advanced Light Helicopter Dhruv, Chinook, Apache and Mi-17 will be part of the aerial display.

Developed by state-run aerospace major Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), the 5.8-tonne twin-engine LCH is armed with air-to-air missiles, 20 mm turret guns and rocket systems, and it is capable of destroying enemy tanks, bunkers, drones and other assets in high-altitude regions.

LCH Prachand was inducted into the Indian Air Force at a ceremony in Jodhpur on Monday.

The helicopter possesses modern stealth characteristics, robust armour protection and formidable night attack capability, and it is fully capable of even operating in Siachen, the world’s highest battle-field.

The LCH is equipped with requisite agility, manoeuvrability, extended range, high altitude performance and all-weather combat capability to perform a range of roles including combat search and rescue (CSAR), destruction of enemy air defence (DEAD) and counter-insurgency (CI) operations.

The helicopter can also be deployed in counter-insurgency operations in the jungles and urban environments as well as for supporting ground forces.

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.

Several key aviation technologies like a glass cockpit and composite airframe structure have been indigenised, they said.