HAL Gears Up Light Combat Helicopter Production

by Sayan Majumdar
Designed and developed for seamless airborne operations in support of ground troops at high altitudes (operational ceiling limit of 6,500 metres), maiden flight of the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) took place over 7 years back, on 29 March 2010 marking successful culmination of three years of design and development efforts by the Rotary Wing Research & Design Centre of HAL’s Helicopter Complex. Informally named ‘Tiger Bird,’ perhaps inspired by the exceptional high agility of the prototype, the LCH is presently undergoing weapons integration work to meet the requirements of the Indian Air Force and the Indian Army, which have a projected need of 64 and 114 units respectively. The LCH is being developed as a dedicated attack helicopter derived from the Dhruv Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH), and is fitted with weapons and special mission systems. The helicopter had earlier achieved the distinction of being the first attack helicopter to land at Siachen, doing so with “usable payload and fuel.”
The LCH inherits many technical features of the Dhruv including its rotor system transmission, power plant, hydraulics, IADS, and avionics. The features that are unique to LCH are its sleek and narrow fuselage, crash worthy tri-cycle landing gear, tandem cockpit, self-sealing fuel tanks, aerofoil shaped stub wings for weapons, armour protection, Nuclear, Biological, Chemical (NBC) protection and low visibility features which make the LCH “lethal, agile and survivable.” Notably the flight controls and hydraulics of Dhruv have been re-designed for the LCH.

The helicopter is powered by two HAL/Turbomeca Shakti turboshaft engines,
each of which can generate up to 871 kW
and run for up to 3,000 hours without
maintenance and feature a Full Authority
Digital Electronic Control (FADEC)
system. The LCH has a cruise speed of 260
km/h, a maximum speed of 275 km/h and
a climb rate of 12 m/s, as well as a ferry
range of 700 km. As apparent, survivability
will be primarily ensured by tactical
elements of speed and surprise with natural
mountainous terrain offering protection to
this highly agile platform.
Fitted with a chin-mounted Nexter
M621 20 mm cannon on a THL-20 turret
(firing rate: 800 rounds/minute), LCH
armament also includes 70 mm rockets
(successfully fired at the 2016 Iron Fist
firepower demonstration) and guided air-toair/air-to-ground
weapons on the stub wings.
MBDA PARS3 and indigenous Helina with
a range up to 7 km are favoured for the type’s
anti-armour weapon, with Rafael’s Spike
ATGM also a likely contender. MBDA’s
Mistral-2 AAMs are carried to ensure selfprotection
against hostile aircraft.
The helicopter has day/night targeting
systems for the crew including helmet
mounted sights and an Elbit Compact
Multi-Purpose Advanced Stabilisation
System (CoMPASS) electro-optical turret,
licence built in India by Bharat Electronics
Limited. The CoMPASS turret includes
a CCD camera, third generation 3-5
µm Forward-Looking Infra-Red (FLIR)
sensor, Laser Range Finder (LRF), and
Laser Designator (LD). The LRF and LD
facilitate measurement of range to the target
and guidance for the laser guided missiles
respectively. A Digital Video Recorder
will enable detailed mission debriefing.
The turret gun is controlled by the Helmet
Mounted Sight (HMS) of the gunner, who
along with the pilot, receives adequate inputs
from Multi Function Displays (MFD) of the
‘glass cockpit.’ The LCH will also be fitted
with a Saab Self-Protection Suite consisting
of radar/laser warning receivers and Missile
Approach Warning Systems (MAWS)
and Countermeasures Dispensing System
(CMDS). It is also planned to integrate IR/
laser jammers on the helicopter.
Another addition is a Data Link
for Network-Centric Warfare (NCW)
operations facilitating transfer of the mission
data to the other airborne platforms and
ground stations operating in the network,
thus facilitating force multiplication. NCW
in particular will facilitate coordinated
air strikes by fixed wing aircraft like the
Mirage 2000 and rotary wing platforms
in short predetermined intervals, thereby
maximising battle damage. The LCH is
designed for low detection (visual, aural,
radar and infrared) and includes armour
protection of critical areas.
A 30 minute dry running capability of
the gear box is a built in-feature to survive
damage to the transmission system, and
crash worthiness features are built into the
wheeled landing gear and main structure
while dual redundant systems also enhance
survivability of the helicopter in battlefield
environments. The performance features
of the LCH including rate of climb, cruise
speed, service ceiling are comparable with
those of contemporary helicopter types such
as the Agusta A129 Mangusta and Airbus
HC Tiger. Development costs of the LCH
have been “relatively low” compared to
those of other helicopter types in its class,
ensuring lower program and unit costs.
“LCH design is optimised to ensure ease
of maintenance with improved reliability
of all the on-board systems to keep the life
cycle operating costs low as well,” stated a
HAL designer.
Sayan Majumdar is a renowned defence journalist and reports for Vayu Aerospace. Views expressed are his own
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