Attack Helicopters of IAF - LCH Prachand, AH-64E Apache : Updates & Discussions

This makes it vulnerable to small arms fire and it can get damaged in rough terrain where the ground is uneven.
Haha Good joke.... Even USA is thinking of taking the scope out of sniper rifles for fear of damage in battlefield and tree branches/muck damage... (sarcasm)

But hope u get the point, the necessity is similar in Rudra/LCA too (identification/long range Surveillance/Aim laser designator and laser illuminator/laser range finder/area scanning/TV & thermal imager/Haze penetrator) etc.....

Look Apache nose marked in red (different product, similar role/characteristics)
1456-a5882e7f1043c60a70630440eb265531.jpg

Ideally placed in maximum field of view, since bottom has gun that leaves nose as best spot.
 

Attachments

  • CoMPASS_2016.pdf
    129.3 KB · Views: 519
Last edited:
Haha Good joke.... Even USA is thinking of taking the scope out of sniper rifles for fear of damage in battlefield and tree branches/muck damage... (sarcasm)

But hope u get the point, the necessity is similar in Rudra/LCA too (identification/long range Surveillance/Aim laser designator and laser illuminator/laser range finder/area scanning/TV & thermal imager/Haze penetrator) etc.....

Look Apache nose marked in red (different product, similar role/characteristics)
1456-a5882e7f1043c60a70630440eb265531.jpg

Ideally placed in maximum field of view, since bottom has gun that leaves nose as best spot.

So where exactly have I said, that the nose is not the best spot. Do you even read and comprehend before starting to type?
 
So where exactly have I said, that the nose is not the best spot. Do you even read and comprehend before starting to type?
My response was to whole discussion, including your post..

Exclusively on your post -
You had said its "vulnerable to small arms fire" - well its reasonably well protected against light/small arms, but not heavy. (plus shaped to deflect helps too)
You had said " it can get damaged in rough terrain where the ground is uneven" - joke, even if you try, it be impossible, from below side, if anything will first come in contact with ground, even at flying at slight angle, be the base mounted gun, then nose & finally when both are crushed/smashed will elbit's comPASS come in contact. In slightly higher downwards diagonal angle, the helicopter blades will contact ground first, after which nothing else matters much.
 
Last edited:

India's Light Combat Helicopter under trial at Pokhran
lch-20180122080459-1170x645.jpg

While the helicopter itself is being tested on different parameters, its firing capability is assessed from variable heights. Photograph: (Zee News Network)
New Delhi, Delhi, India
Jan 22, 2018, 02.01 PM (IST)
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
The trial is being supervised by DRDO, IAF and HAL scientists
Under the Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'Make In India' initiative, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has made attacking Light Combat Helicopters (LCH).
The trial of its strike capabilities is currently underway at Pokhran Field Firing Range in Jaisalmer.
The trial is being supervised by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Indian Air Force and HAL scientists, who are checking the combat helicopters on various parameters.
As per media reports, this trial has been going on at the firing range for last one week under desert conditions.
While the helicopter itself is being tested on different parameters, its firing capability is assessed from variable heights.
Reportedly, these helicopters can carry out operational roles under extreme weather conditions at different altitudes from sea level, hot weather desert, cold weather and even at Himalayan altitudes.
India's Light Combat Helicopter under trial at Pokhran
 
  • Like
Reactions: Shashank and TARGET
You had said its "vulnerable to small arms fire" - well its reasonably well protected against light/small arms, but not heavy. (plus shaped to deflect helps too)

Not really. That's not what the CRPF and BSF chaps told us, when we were working with them on something similar for their recon requirements.

On the
even at flying at slight angle, be the base mounted gun, then nose & finally when both are crushed/smashed will elbit's comPASS come in contact.

The assumption was that, the compass would have to be below the gun mount, simply because the gun would obstruct the field of vision. Anyways, either ways we both agree below is not possible.
 
light-combat-helicopter-hal_650x400_61517417816.jpg


BENGALURU: State-run Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd on Wednesday said its pilots have successfully flown the home-made 5.8-tonne Light Combat Helicopter with its own automatic flight control system for the first time.

"The 20-minute maiden flight of the multirole copter was flawless with the engagement of the flight control system throughout," the state-run HAL said in a statement in Bengaluru.

HAL Chairman T Suvarna Raju said the flight control system, whose development the company funded, would replace the imported one.

HAL Chief Test Pilot Wing Commander Unni K Pillai (retired) and Test Pilot Group Captain Rajesh Verma (retired) flew the chopper after taking off from the defence airport in the city's eastern suburb.

Representatives from certification agencies and company officials were present on the occasion.

The company has also indigenised the attack helicopter's display system or the integrated architecture display system with the involvement of the private industry.

The company received a request for proposal (RFP) on December 22 for the supply of 15 LCH from the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Indian Army.

The Defence Acquisition Council in 2016 cleared 10 LCH for the IAF and five for the Army.

The chopper is powered by two Shakti engines and has many features of the indigenous Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) Dhruv.

The company has so far built four technology demonstrators of the LCH for flight testing. One of them also landed in forward bases at Siachen, located 5,400 metres above sea level in the eastern Karakoram range of the Himalayas.

"The LCH also participated in the IAF's Iron Fist exercise in March 2016 and displayed its rocket-firing capabilities in weaponised configuration," the statement added.

Defence Minister Arun Jaitely launched the LCH production on August 26 when it received the initial operational clearance.

As a derivative of the ALH platform, the LCH was certified by the defence regulator Cemilac on October 16, 2015, after extensive trials in all-weather conditions. Known for its agility, the tandem twin-seat chopper is equipped for day-and-night combat operations, with digital camouflage system for stealth actions.
 
Light Combat Helicopter gets cheaper with crucial indigenous AFCS
1517497323350.png


The indigenous Light Combat Helicopter, which is already a success story that has been ordered by the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the army, logged an important breakthrough today by flying with an “automatic flight control system” (AFCS) designed and developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL).An AFCS is a powerful computer that keeps a helicopter flying stably, by sensing any deviation from level flight in microseconds, and sending flight controls the correctives needed to revert to stable flight.So far, the LCH had been flying with an expensive, imported AFCS.“The development of indigenous AFCS is a HAL-funded project and will replace the high value imported system,” said T. Suvarna Raju, the chief of HAL.HAL’s mission control systems R&D centre (MCSRDC), which has developed this system, is credited with a string of software development successes – notably the Jaguar fighter’s DARIN navigation-attack system that guides the aircraft with pinpoint accuracy to deliver bombs on a target hundreds of kilometers away.HAL also announced on Wednesday that it had “indigenised the Cockpit Display System on LCH, namely the Integrated Architecture Display System (IADS) with the participation of Indian private industries.” This system, which is being flight tested, also replaces an expensive imported system.These import-substitution measures are expected to cumulatively bring down the cost of the LCH from the Rs 231 crore per chopper that has been negotiated for the first 15 helicopters that the military ordered in December.The LCH is one of HAL’s four major success stories in helicopter development. It started with the Dhruv advanced light helicopter (ALH), which is the mainstay of the army aviation corps. That was followed by an armed version of the Dhruv, called the Rudra, which participated in the Republic Day flypast last week.

Undergoing testing is the eponymous Light Utility Helicopter, which is in a race with the Russian Kamov-226T to enter production.The LCH was accorded Initial Operational Clearance (IOC) on August 26, in the presence of the defence minister.For the army, the LCH is a crucial force multiplier – by providing fire support at extremely high altitudes to Indian infantrymen, who can carry only limited weaponry in those rarefied altitudes. With an LCH at hand, they will benefit from its 20-millimetre turret gun, 70-millimetre air-to-ground rockets, and air-to-air and air-to-ground guided missiles.The LCH, which is a 5.8-tonne, twin-engine helicopter will cost less than half the price of the AH-64E Apache, which the IAF has bought from Boeing, USA. The Apache is more heavily armed and armoured and has the sophisticated Longbow fire control radar. The LCH does not yet have radar, but HAL is in the process of developing one before mass production begins.

Source :- Light Combat Helicopter gets cheaper with crucial indigenous AFCS
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bali78 and Shashank
Indian Army gets closer to buying 6 more Apache Attack Helicopters

The army is inching closer towards its goal of deploying attack helicopters for the first time, with India issuing a Letter of Request (LoR) to the US government for buying Boeing-made Apache choppers, a person closely monitoring the project said.

The LoR is a significant step as it formally kicks off the foreign military sales programme, Washington’s government-to-government method for selling US-built platforms. “The LoR was issued recently and now the US has to respond with a Letter of Acceptance (LoA) to take the Apache deal forward,” said the person quoted above. The LoA could come in six months after which the two sides will begin negotiations to hammer out a deal.

India’s defence acquisition council green lighted the proposal to buy six Apache AH-64E attack helicopters from the US last August. The helicopters and associated equipment are expected to cost around Rs 4,168 crore.

Armed with fire-and-forget Hellfire missiles, an Apache can track up to 128 targets a minute and prioritise threats. The missiles equip the gunships with heavy anti-armour capabilities.

India placed orders worth $3.1 billion for 22 Apache helicopters and 15 Chinook heavy-lift choppers in 2015 for its air force. These machines will start arriving in the middle of 2019, changing the complexion of the Indian Air Force’s helicopter fleet that consists mainly of Russian platforms. The six Apaches cleared by the council are being bought as a follow-on option to the 2015 contract.

Indian Army gets closer to buying 6 more Apache Attack Helicopters
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bali78 and Aditya
Tata Boeing facility to produce Apache fuselage launched

Tata Boeing Aerospace Limited, a joint venture of Boeing and Tata Advanced Systems on Thursday inaugurated its facility here to co-produce the Boeing AH-64 Apache helicopter fuselage and other aerostructures.

Spread over 14,000 square meters and employing 350 highly skilled workers, the facility will be the sole producer of the AH-64 Apache helicopter fuselage delivered by Boeing to its customers, including the US Army.

The delivery of the first fuselage is expected later this year.

The facility, inaugurated by Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, will also produce secondary structures and vertical spar boxes of the multi-role combat helicopter.

The Apache has been flown or selected for acquisition by the US and 15 other nations, including India.

US Ambassador to India Kenneth I. Juster, Tata Emeritus Chairman Ratan Tata, Boeing Executive Vice President Leanne Caret, Telangana Minister for Industry K.T.A. Rama Rao and officials of the Tata Advanced Systems Ltd (TASL) and Boeing attended the event.

In November 2015, Boeing and Tata had announced a joint venture for manufacturing aerostructures and collaboration on integrated systems development opportunities in India.A

The foundation for the facility was laid in 2016.

--IANS

Tata Boeing facility to produce Apache fuselage launched
 
Philippine Air Force evaluate HAL Rudra Light Attack Helicopter (Armed) acquisition

With the Philippine Air Force Attack Helicopter acquisition project already moving and the PAF’s TWG already evaluating possible candidates, it appears that we missed one that was also looked into by the said TWG team – the Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. Rudra light combat helicopter.



Philippine_Air_Force_evaluate_HAL_Rudra_Light_Attack__Armed__Helicopter_acquisition_Photos_and_Video-1024x553.jpg


Together with the Airbus H145M, MD Helicopters MD601 Explorer and Leonardo AW109, the HAL Rudra may be another candidate that would need a second look, considering its development was more into being an armed helicopter right from the start, compared to the other candidates that are general purpose military helicopter designs.



HAL Rudra (ALH WSI) Attack Helicopter
HAL Rudra Light Attack Helicopter is an attack helicopter manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), for the Indian Army. It is the Weapon System Integrated (WSI) Mk-IV variant of the Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH). Rudra is the first armed helicopter being produced indigenously in India.

The HAL Rudra helicopter can be deployed in wide range of missions, including reconnaissance, troop transport, anti-tank warfare and close air support.

HAL was contracted to deliver about 76 Rudra ALH Mk-IV helicopters for the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force. The Indian Army plans to equip its Army Aviation Corps with 60 helicopters, forming six squadrons. HAL handed over the first HAL Rudra Light Attack Helicopter to the Indian Army in February 2013.

It also appears that, based on our information, the Indian government may have already made some feelers with the AFP, as they are supporting HAL in marketing its products to the Philippine market.
 
Last edited:
My personal take is that the AH-64E is set up for taking control of drones as well as the usual stuff, plus laser-guided rockets on top of ATGMs. Very combat proven and very accurate chain gun. You can also replace half the chain gun rounds with a fuel tank for extra range.
Tiger - very inaccurate chain gun mounted too near nose.
Kamov - Good gun, good performance but large and complex and Vikhrs are crap. They might not even hit an MBT, let alone destroy it. Watch videos of them guiding in Iraq, very hit and miss. Mi-28 suffers from similar missiles.
 
  • Like
Reactions: TARGET and Parthu
Why is it sky blue paint .?

Is it planned to fly high altitude ? Could have preferred land camo s ..:(