HAL receives request for proposal from Defence Ministry for 156 light combat helicopters worth ₹45,000 crore
The twin-engine LCH designed and developed by HAL is a 5-8 tonne class dedicated combat helicopter, conceptualised after the 1999 Kargil conflict when the need for a dedicated platform capable of operating in high altitudes was felt
Defence public sector undertaking Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has received the Request for Proposal (RFP) from the Defence Ministry for 156 indigenous Light Combat Helicopters (LCH) estimated to cost ₹45,000 crore.
“In terms of Regulation 30 of the SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015, we would like to inform that RFP has been issued by the Ministry of Defence for procurement of 156 Light Combat Helicopter (90 nos. for Indian Army and 66 nos. for Indian Air Force),” the HAL informed the stock exchanges on Monday.
Now, HAL will get back with price quote to MoD following which cost negotiations will be held to finalise the deal. Once the final deal is ready, it has to be approved by the Cabinet Committee on Security before the deal can be signed.
The Army and the IAF have already contracted 15 LCH of Feb limited series production variants, approved by the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) in March 2020 at a cost of ₹3,887 crore along with infrastructure sanctions worth ₹377 crore, 10 for the IAF and five for the Army. The deal for 156 LCH was approved by the Defence Acquisition Council last November.
The Army is also gearing up to induct the first lot of AH-64E Apache attack helicopters, six of which have been contracted, from May onwards and will be deployed in the desert sector.
Indigenous attack helicopter
The twin-engine LCH designed and developed by the HAL is a 5-8 tonne class dedicated combat helicopter, conceptualised after the 1999 Kargil conflict when the need for a dedicated platform capable of operating in high altitudes was felt. It is the only attack helicopter in the world which can land and take-off at an altitude of 5,000 m (16,400 ft) with considerable load of weapons and fuel, significantly augmenting the firepower of the IAF and the Army in high altitude areas. The helicopter has a combat radius of 500 km and can go up to a service ceiling of 21,000 feet, which makes it ideal to operate at high altitude areas of the Siachen glacier.
The LCH is armed with 20mm nose gun, 70 mm rockets, anti-tank guided missile ‘Dhruvastra’ and air-to-air missile ‘Mistral-2’ of MBDA whichever has a maximum interception range of 6.5 km.
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