HAL Prachanda

Light Attack Helicopter [ 2022 ]

Several hundred HAL Light Combat Helicopters are currently on order for the Indian Air Force and Army.

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 10/05/2022 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site.

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The HAL LCH ("Light Combat Helicopter") is an indigenous Indian attack helicopter currently in development as of this writing. It is reported that two prototypes have been developed to date and have been undertaking flight trials. Upon inception, the LCH will stock the inventories of both the Indian Army air arm and the Indian Air Force. First flight of the machine occurred on March 29th, 2010. Development of the LCH is being handled by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, otherwise known as "HAL".

The Indian LCH concept was born in a 2006 initiative to provide an indigenous attack helicopter design to fulfill primary roles in both the Indian Air Force and the Indian Army. HAL has already garnered much in the way of experience by designing, developing and producing the "Dhruv" series of multirole helicopters introduced in 2002. Thusly, this knowledge was utilized extensively within the design of the new required attack platform - known under the generic program name of "LCH". At the end of its developmental and evaluation cycles, the LCH should compare favorably to contemporary attack mounts such as the Bell AH-1 SuperCobra and the Eurocopter Tiger.

The LCH design exhibits a sleek exterior. The weapons specialist and pilot are seated in a stepped tandem arrangement cockpit with the gunner in front and the pilot at the rear. The cockpit offers excellent views from all angles and sports some framing. Ahead of the cockpit is a short nose housing sensitive systems as well as a chin-mounted cannon. The fuselage is thin in the front profile. The engine nacelles are contoured nicely along the sides of the fuselage at amidships and power a low-mounted, four-bladed main rotor mast and four-bladed tail rotor, the latter driven by a shaft running inside the empennage. The tail rotor is set to face off of the starboard side of the aircraft. The empennage is elevated in the design and requires a special rear landing gear leg for support when on the ground. The undercarriage, as a whole, consists of the rear support leg and a pair of main landing gear legs to either side of the forward fuselage. Each leg is heavily strutted for the rigors of daily operation and to absorb a full-impact crash landing. The undercarriage will remain fixed during flight as is not retractable. The empennage also fits a single vertical tail fin and horizontal planes. There are two short wingstubs for the mounting of munitions, external fuel stores and specialized equipment pods as needed.

Power for the LCH airframe is provided by 2 x HAL/Turbomeca Shakti turboshaft engines delivering 1,400 shaft horsepower each. This will allow the LCH a top speed of 170 miles per hour with a cruising speed equal to 160 miles per hour. Range is said to be out to 342 miles and a service ceiling of 21,300 feet is being reported based on the prototypes. Rate-of-climb is estimated to be 2,362 feet per minute. All told, the LCH should be a quick and nimble end-product worthy of the modern battlefield. At any rate, it will provide a major move forward for the Indian defense industry that, for decades, had long relied on outside help to stock its inventories.

Like other up-and-coming helicopter designs of the modern age, the LCH is said to field stealth features (in the way of composites) that reduce its radar signature against enemy tracking systems. Its cockpit utilizes state of the art systems and functions intended to ease crew workload yet increase mission efficiency. The cockpit will be "all-glass" and wholly digital, dominated by a pair of multi-function displays (MFD) at each cockpit position. Data-sharing will be integral in its design and provide for real-time mission assessments and communications between other allied parties. The helicopter will also integrate a FLIR system, TV as well as a laser range-finder and laser designation system, the latter not requiring a target to be "lazed" by allied infantry. As the helicopter's role will be low-altitude in nature, strategic armoring of key systems and cockpit will be in order. Helmet mounted sights will provide mission pertinent information to each pilot and aim the chin turret cannon within the limits of its firing and elevation arcs. Defense will be handled by a basic chaff and flare dispensing unit as well as radar and laser warning receivers.

As an attack helicopter, the LCH will field a French-designed 20mm M621 cannon system as standard. This weapon will be installed inside of a French-based Nexter-brand THL-20 series powered turret which will be operated by either crewmember via helmet and overriding hand controls. Primary anti-armor weaponry will be the Helina air-to-surface, anti-tank, guided missile. Additionally, the LCH will be cleared to field mission-specific homing missiles such as an anti-radiation type for destroying enemy radar installations. Other ordnance packages will see the fitting of multi-shot rocket launcher pods and even conventional drop bombs and cluster bombs. All external ordnance will be mounted across four hardpoints under each wingstub installation (two hardpoints to a wing).

It was expected that the LCH would join the ranks of the Indian Air Force during 2012 but delays in the program ensured it would be later. The Indian Air Force has 65 LCH on order with the Army scheduled to receive 114 of the type. Sri Lanka has ordered 20 as the first foreign operator.

At the start of 2015, there are 65 LCHs on order for the Indian Air Force and 114 for Indian Army Aviation.©MilitaryFactory.com

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November 2016 - the Indian Defense Acquisition Council approved the purchase of 15 LCH platforms. The deal sees ten serving with the Indian Air Force and five set to serve with the Indian Army.

January 2018 - The LCH has made its first-flight on January 31st, 2018.

August 2020 - An LCH has been delivered to the high-altitude Indian operating base at Leh in the country's north.

September 2022 - The HAL LCH was formally inducted into Indian service under the name of "Prachand / Prachanda".

Specifications

Service Year

2022

Origin

India

Status

ACTIVE
In Limited Service.

Crew

2

Production

10
UNITS

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) - India

(View other Aviaton-Related Manufacturers)

India; Sri Lanka (ordered)

(OPERATORS list includes past, present, and future operators when applicable)

✓ Ground Attack (Bombing, Strafing)
Ability to conduct aerial bombing of ground targets by way of (but not limited to) guns, bombs, missiles, rockets, and the like.

✓ Close-Air Support (CAS)
Developed to operate in close proximity to active ground elements by way of a broad array of air-to-ground ordnance and munitions options.

✓ X-Plane (Developmental, Prototype, Technology Demonstrator)
Aircraft developed for the role of prototyping, technology demonstration, or research / data collection.

Length

51.8 ft
(15.80 m)

Width/Span

43.6 ft
(13.30 m)

Height

15.4 ft
(4.70 m)

Empty Wgt

18,739 lb
(8,500 kg)

MTOW

28,186 lb
(12,785 kg)

Wgt Diff

+9,447 lb
(+4,285 kg)

(Showcased structural values pertain to the HAL LCH (Light Combat Helicopter) production variant)

Installed: 2 x HAL (Turbomeca) Shakti turboshaft engines developing 1,430 horsepower each and driving a four-blade main rotor and a four-blade tail rotor.

Max Speed

174 mph
(280 kph | 151 kts)

Cruise Speed

113 mph
(182 kph | 98 kts)

Max. Speed Diff

+61 mph
(+98 kph | 53 kts)

Ceiling

21,325 ft
(6,500 m | 4 mi)

Range

435 mi
(700 km | 1,296 nm)

Rate-of-Climb

2,362 ft/min
(720 m/min)

♦ MACH Regime (Sonic)

Sub

Trans

Super

Hyper

HiHyper

ReEntry

♦

(Showcased performance specifications pertain to the HAL LCH (Light Combat Helicopter) production variant. Performance specifications showcased above are subject to environmental factors as well as aircraft configuration. Estimates are made when Real Data not available. Compare this aircraft entry against any other in our database or View aircraft by powerplant type)

STANDARD:
1 x 20mm M621 cannon in Nexter THL-20 chin-turret installation.

OPTIONAL:
Air-to-Air missiles, Anti-tank Guided Missiles (ATGMs), Anti-radiation missiles, Rocket Pods, Conventional Drop Ordnance (Cluster, Iron Bombs), gun pods, and cannon pods.

Supported Types

Graphical image of an aircraft automatic cannon

Graphical image of an aircraft machine gun pod

Graphical image of an aircraft cannon pod

Graphical image of an air-to-air missile weapon

Graphical image of a short-range air-to-air missile

Graphical image of an aircraft anti-tank guided missile

Graphical image of aircraft aerial rockets

Graphical image of an aircraft rocket pod

Graphical image of an aircraft conventional drop bomb munition

Graphical image of an aircraft anti-radar/anti-radiation missile

(Not all ordnance types may be represented in the showcase above)

Hardpoint Mountings: 4

Mounting Points

-

7

5

-

4

6

-

HARDPOINT(S) KEY:

X

15

13

11

9

7

5

3

1

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

COLOR KEY:

Fuselage Centerline

Fuselage Port/Wingroot

Fuselage Starboard/Wingroot

Wing/Underwing

Wingtip Mount(s)

Internal Bay(s)

Not Used

Note: Diagram above does not take into account inline hardpoints (mounting positions seated one-behind-the-other).

Prachand / Prachanda - Base Series Name.

LCH ("Light Combat Helicopter") - Project Designation.

General Assessment

Firepower

Performance

Survivability

Versatility

Impact

Values are derrived from a variety of categories related to the design, overall function, and historical influence of this aircraft in aviation history.

Overall Rating

The overall rating takes into account over 60 individual factors related to this aircraft entry.

68

Rating is out of a possible 100 points.

Relative Maximum Speed

Hi: 200mph

Lo: 100mph

This entry's maximum listed speed (174mph).

Graph average of 150 miles-per-hour.

City-to-City Ranges

NYC

LON

PAR

BER

MOS

TOK

SYD

LAX

NYC

HAL LCH (Light Combat Helicopter) operational range when compared to distances between major cities (in KM).

Max Altitude Visualization

Design Balance

The three qualities reflected above are altitude, speed, and range.

Aviation Era Span

Showcasing era cross-over of this aircraft design.

Unit Production (10)

10

36183

44000

Compared against Ilyushin IL-2 (military) and Cessna 172 (civilian).

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