• The defence ministry firmed up procurement of 156 Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) Prachand from Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) at a cost of Rs 62,700 crore.

• The move follows approval by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to bolster the combat capability of the military.

• Following the decision by the CCS, the defence ministry signed two contracts with the HAL for the procurement.

• The first contract it signed with HAL is for supply of 66 Prachand helicopters to the Indian Air Force (IAF) while the second one is for buying 90 choppers for the Indian Army.

Prachand helicopter

• Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) Prachand is India’s first indigenously designed and developed combat helicopter having a capability of operating at an altitude of over 5,000 metres.

• Developed by HAL, the 5.8-tonne twin-engine LCH is armed with various weapon systems and is capable of destroying enemy tanks, bunkers, drones and other assets in high-altitude regions.

• The helicopter possesses modern stealth characteristics, robust armour protection and formidable night attack capability, and it is fully capable of even operating in Siachen, the world’s highest battle-field.

• The supply of these helicopters shall commence from the third year and will be spread over the next five years.

• This helicopter has a large number of components designed and manufactured in India and it is planned to achieve an overall indigenous content of over 65 per cent during the execution of this procurement.

• This will involve over 250 domestic companies mostly MSMEs and will generate over 8,500 direct and indirect jobs.

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