The Indian Army formally inducted the indigenous Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) on Thursday. The first LCH was formally received by Director General Army Aviation Lt Gen A. K. Suri from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in Bengaluru.
“Army Aviation received one LCH today. It will receive the second LCH in October,” a defence official said.
The Army raised its first LCH Unit on June 01, 2022, in Bengaluru to prepare for the induction. As reported by The Hindu earlier, the Unit will move to the Eastern Command along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) on completion next year.
The Army plans to acquire 95 LCH of which seven units, each having 10 helicopters, are to be deployed for combat role in mountains.
In a related development, the Indian Air Force (IAF) is set to formally induct 10 LCH in Jodhpur next week ahead of Air Force Day.
In March 2022, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) approved the procurement of 15 Limited Series Production (LSP) variants of the LCH at a cost of ₹3,887 crore along with infrastructure sanctions worth ₹377 crore. Of the 15 helicopters, 10 are for the IAF and five for the Army. The LCH is designed and developed by HAL.
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