The Army, which is currently executing the 4th tranche of Emergency Procurements, has identified around 80 deals, roughly valued at ₹15,000 crore, Army Chief Gen. Manoj Pande said on Tuesday. On the helicopter front, he said the indigenous Light Combat Helicopter (LCH), which the Army just inducted, is more versatile in terms of its maneuverability and light weight and so is most suited for the mountains.
As reported by The Hindu earlier, the Army moved its first LCH squadron, 351 Army Aviation, to Missamari, Assam in the Eastern sector near the Line of Actual Control (LAC) last November. The LCH is the first dedicated attack helicopter operated by the Army. It currently has the Rudra weaponised Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH).
“In terms of the overall combat aviation profile, we are looking at 90-95 LCHs,” Gen. Pande said, speaking to the media on the sidelines of Aero India.
Army is also slated to receive the AH-64E Apache attack helicopter in February 2024 as reported by earlier.
However, the LCH is yet to get its anti-tank and air-to-air missiles. One of the weapon systems on the LCH and the Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) is the HELINA, (Helicopter Mounted NAG) being developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
Gen. Pande said HELINA trials have been a success and they are looking at integration of HELINA on the platform. The Defence Acquisition Council has already approved the procurement of 40 launchers and 500 missiles. “Integration itself is important and it is work in progress,” the Army Chief stated.
The Army is also set to receive the indigenous Light Utility Helicopter (LUH), which Gen. Pande said falls in the category of recce and surveillance. It will replace the over 200 ageing Cheetah and Chetaks in service.
The Army sought some improvements from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) on the LUH and they are working on it, Gen. Pande said, pointing out that auto pilot was one of the requirements.
“We are eventually looking at 110 LUH after the six Limited Series Production variants are inducted,” Gen. Pande said, adding that the Army has a total requirement of over 200 helicopters in this category.
Army Aviation has three Brigades at Leh, Missamari and Jodhpur operating around 145 indigenous Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH), 75 of which are the Rudra weaponised variants, and around 190 ageing Cheetah, Chetak and Cheetal helicopters. Another 25 ALH Mk-III are on order and will be inducted within two years.
The Army is inducting niche technology in a big way and at the same time also looking at right-sizing it’s manpower. On this, Gen. Pande said once new technology is inducted, it should optimise the manpower and referred to the induction of and the cut down on animal transport in high altitude areas. “By 2030 we will have brought down our animal transport by 50-60%,” he said in response to a question from The Hindu. They are also looking at optimising several other domains, he added.
Published - February 14, 2023 08:42 pm IST
