HAL Light Combat Helicopter
| HAL Light Combat Helicopter | |
|---|---|
 LCH prototype at Aero India 2011 |
|
| Type: | Light attack helicopter |
| Design country: | |
| Manufacturer: | |
| First flight: |
March 29, 2010 |
| Commissioning: |
In flight testing |
| Production time: |
In series production since August 2017 |
| Number of pieces: |
2 |
The Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) ( dt. Light Attack Helicopter ) is a development of the Indian state Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) .
history
The first ideas for the development of their own combat helicopter for India, which can also be used in high mountains, go back to 1989. The first practical tests were not carried out until 1998 under the name LAH (Light Attack Helicopter) with a Cheetah equipped with two 12.7 mm machine guns and 70 mm missiles . This was followed in 2001 by another design under the same name that was to be developed from the HAL Dhruv . Since its engines were too weak for the design, the empty weight had to be reduced by eliminating the movable cannon and increasing the use of non-metallic materials. In February 2003 the design was renamed LCH, since it was now planned to fight other aircraft. In addition to structural changes such as the cockpit structure, a movable 20 mm cannon should now be installed again. The first flight was supposed to take place in 2005, which turned out to be too ambitious. The first prototype, which was only completed in 2010, is still referred to as the TD-1 (Technology Demonstrator), as its empty weight of 3100 kg is still well above the planned maximum of 2550 kg. The following two prototypes should be closer to the planned values. The first prototype TD-1 took off for the first time in hovering flight on February 4, 2010 and took off on March 29, 2010 in Bangalore with Colonel Unni Pillai and Hari Nair on board for its successful first flight lasting 20 minutes. However, HAL names 23 May 2010 as the date for the ten-minute first flight.
The release for series production took place in November 2016. At the end of August 2017, the production of a pilot series of 15 helicopters began.
equipment
The equipment includes a target marking and vision system projected onto the helmet for the crew, electronic warfare and modern armament including an on-board machine gun placed under the helicopter nose. The LCH should have some elements of camouflage properties and have an accident-proof chassis.
Armament
- Cannon: 1 × 20 mm M621 Nexter THL-20
- Weapon stations: 4 (2 under each stub wing) and devices to carry the following combinations:
- Rockets: 4 × 70 mm Forges de Zeebrugge 12-tube rocket launcher FZ231
- Air control bodies: 4 × 2-way MBDA Mistral air-to-air guided missiles and 2 × 4-way Helina
Technical specifications
The technical components of the combat helicopter of the 5.5 ton class are based on the HAL Dhruv . It is made of light composite material and can climb to great heights of 6000 meters. The gas turbine called Shakti is produced in partnership with the French manufacturer Turbomeca . HAL intends to sell 150-175 LCHs to the Indian Armed Forces.
The crew consists of a pilot and a gunner who sit one behind the other in the slim structure.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b FliegerRevue January 2011, pp. 28–30, India's attack helicopters are delayed
- ↑ a b c Press article on the Internet at Indiatimes ( Memento of the original from April 2, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ HAL begins series production of the LCH. FlugRevue.de , August 28, 2017, accessed on September 2, 2017 .
- ↑ a b c Aero India 2015: Third LCH prototype breaks cover with new paint job . In: Jane's Defense Weekly , February 23, 2015. Retrieved December 5, 2017.
