Swarajya's video: Cabinet Committee On Security Clears Purchase Of 15 Indigenous Light Combat Helicopters

The Cabinet Committee on Security, the highest decision making body on national security affairs, has approved the purchase of 15 indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCH) for the Indian Army and the Indian Air Force (IAF). Ten of these helos will be operated by the IAF and the remaining five by the Indian Army. LCH, India’s first indigenously-built dedicated attack helicopter, has been designed and built by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The LCH has been built to meet the requirements of the Indian military in high-altitude areas. It has demonstrated its capability of operating in high-altitude conditions during trials not only in Ladakh but also on the Siachen Glacier. Equipped with HAL's new-generation Shakti engine, co-developed with French engine-maker Safran, the 5.5 tonne helo has been designed to operate at an altitude of up to 20,000 feet. “During the Kargil War of 1999, there was a need felt for armed attack helicopters capable of operating at high altitude. That’s where the LCH fits in,” former Indian Air Force chief Fali Homi Major, the only helicopter pilot to become Chief of Air Staff, wrote recently. The combat helicopter comes armed with a cannon mounted below its nose, capable of piercing light armour with a thousand 20-millimetre bullets each minute. It carries 70-millimetre rockets on pods on either side. Subscribe to Swarajya on YouTube. Get a Swarajya subscription: https://subscriptions.swarajyamag.com/join-us Website: https://swarajyamag.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/SwarajyaMag Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/swarajyamag