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

samsaptaka said:
Any updates on the status of ATGM integration on prachand ? Seems to be going on for eternity...
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each user service would do that as per their own plan and convenience. Army I think one chief already said in a previous interview/press talk that they have integrated atgm with it despite having like 5 airframes, 2 of those I saw flying around here during December. IAF got their own plan for it.
Question is whether each user has selected their pick of choice or want to integrate every type of atgm available in the inventory ?
 
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samsaptaka said:
Any updates on the status of ATGM integration on prachand ? Seems to be going on for eternity...
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LCH's primary ATGM will be Helina. It will begin fire trials soon.

But Spike and Hellfire will also be integrated for commonality and supply reasons. Even the Americans are going for Spike NLOS on their Apaches. This will allow the integration of LCH and Apache with Strykers.
 
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Zarion said:

There have been several reports for prachands order and few months back the atags and prachand deals were both called to be get the clearance this financial year that's why I said it would happen.
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I called it. Let's go!
Ankit Kumar said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/1905618073421480092

Contract signed ?
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I don't think he meant that.
 
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MoD inks two contracts worth Rs 62,700 crore with HAL for supply of 156 LCH, Prachand to the Armed Forces​

Out of 156 LCHs, 66 LCHs will be supplied to the Indian Air Force and 90 to the Indian Army​


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Ministry of Defence on March 28, 2025, signed two contracts with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for supply of 156 Light Combat Helicopters (LCH), Prachand, along with training and other associated equipment worth Rs. 62,700 crore, excluding taxes. The first contract is for supply of 66 LCHs to the Indian Air Force (IAF) and second is for supply of 90 LCHs to the Indian Army.

The supply of these Helicopters shall commence from the third year and will be spread over the next five years. The contracts will enhance the combat capability of Armed Forces at high altitudes. LCH is India’s first indigenously designed and developed combat helicopter having a capability of operating at an altitude of over 5000 meters. This helicopter has a large number of components designed & manufactured in India and it is planned to achieve an overall indigenous content of over 65% during the execution of this procurement. This will involve over 250 domestic companies mostly MSMEs and will generate over 8,500 direct & indirect jobs.

That's around $47 million per helicopter.
 
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South block said:
Indian Army can pay for the overpriced junk from it's own pocket.
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Its not overpriced and its not
South block said:
Indian Army can pay for the overpriced junk from it's own pocket.
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I wont call junk the thing what they ordered yesterday.
No ATGMs on it as of now. Have only 20 mm gu which is inadequate for anti tank operations. And only god knows, whether LCH had inherited any the till date unsolved teething issues from Dhruv or not.
 
Hydra said:
I wont call junk the thing what they ordered yesterday.
No ATGMs on it as of now. Have only 20 mm gu which is inadequate for anti tank operations. And only god knows, whether LCH had inherited any the till date unsolved teething issues from Dhruv or not.
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The helicopter hasn't even entered production yet. The Dhruv has already fired the Helina which the prachand is based on.

If the helicopter had any issues then it won't have been ordered just like the LUH and especially not for that kind of sum.

+ The LSP version has been operational for 3 years already and no incident has occurred and it has participated in exercises as well. So *for now* it doesn't contain any issues.

But do you know what's worse than having a helicopter with design flaws? A world class helicopter which hasn't been delivered for years and only exists on paper.

www.indiatoday.in

Delivery of Apache attack helicopters from US for Army misses deadline again

The Indian Army expected delivery of six Apache AH-64E attack helicopters from the US by June 2024. However, the timeline was shifted to December 2024 due to supply chain disruption.
www.indiatoday.in www.indiatoday.in

I Don't doubt the apache but if it isn't available for operation then it's not any better.
 
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Zarion said:
The helicopter hasn't even entered production yet. The Dhruv has already fired the Helina which the prachand is based on.
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What sort of argument is this? When something has to be order ot has to be finished product, LCH doesn't even have mated with any ATGMs so far. And when comes to helina, doest it finishes ots development?
Zarion said:
If the helicopter had any issues then it won't have been ordered just like the LUH and especially not for that kind of sum.

+ The LSP version has been operational for 3 years already and no incident has occurred and it has participated in exercises as well. So *for now* it doesn't contain any issues.

But do you know what's worse than having a helicopter with design flaws? A world class helicopter which hasn't been delivered for years and only exists on paper.
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www.indiatoday.in

HAL’s 3-week timeline ends, no breakthrough on fate of grounded Dhruv choppers

A fleet of 300 Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) has been grounded since January after a crash, and defence experts have raised concerns about their operational reliability.
www.indiatoday.in www.indiatoday.in

This is the case od Dhruv which is already in service.
 
Hydra said:
What sort of argument is this? When something has to be order ot has to be finished product, LCH doesn't even have mated with any ATGMs so far. And when comes to helina, doest it finishes ots development?


This is the case od Dhruv which is already in service.
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And LCA wasn't mated with the astra when it was ordered. That's how orders have been placed because you can integrate the weapons before the production starts. Re-iterate your last point can't understand what you wrote.

Did you even read what I wrote? Dhruv's first accident was 3 years after it's introduction in 2002. In the case of prachand, the helicopter has been operational for nearly 3 years and hasn't had any incidents or complaints unlike the LUH so *for now* the LCH prachand doesn't contain any issues.

Army and IAF has been operating both the LCH and LUH since 2022 but gave the orders for only the LCH because the LUH still has issues that need to be fixed. This re-iterates that yes *for now* the LCH doesn't have any issues.
 
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