India's first indigenous dedicated attack chopper, the Light Combat Helicopter (LCH), is finally slated to take to the skies in March
next year after a few false starts over the last couple of years.

"After the first prototype's maiden flight in March 2009, Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) says LCH should be ready for the initial operational clearance (IOC) by December 2010," a senior defence ministry official told TOI.

With the final operational clearance (FOC) a year or so after that, the newly revised timeframes hold that the 5.5-tonne LCH should be ready for induction into IAF by 2012-2013.

The project development cost of LCH is currently pegged at only Rs 376.67 crore since it's basically a derivative of the Dhruv ALH (advanced light helicopter) already being inducted into the armed forces.

The twin-engine LCH will be armed with a 20mm turret twin-barrel gun, cluster bombs, rocket pods as well as air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles. Designed for anti-tank and anti-infantry roles with a maximum speed of 275 kmph, it will also be capable of high-altitude warfare since its operational ceiling will be 16,000 to 18,000 feet.

"The LCH will incorporate a number of stealth features and crash-worthy landing gear for better survivability. The LCH will have a narrow fuselage, with two crew stations," said an official.

IAF has projected an initial requirement of 65 LCHs, also fitted with helmet-mounted targeting systems, electronic warfare equipment and electro-optics, to bolster its attack helicopter fleet.



Izvor!

Aha! Rade Indijci rade.
Izgleda da im Ameri kuhaju corbu - poceli su u Bombaju izgleda.

Fino izgleda,pomalo podseca na AH-64

Odlican je u tom smislu  
Jedino mi je ta brzina mala u kontekstu velike visine koju moze da dosegne. To je onda laka meta.
Najverovatnioje da je najbolji u podrsci onima na zemlji i za skidanje konzervi od vozila i tenkova. 275km/h u niskom letu je sasvim ok za iznenadjenja i bezaniju.

Mogucnost dostizanja velike visine je iznudjena potrebom da se ovaj helikopter koristi u planinama Kasmira gde se borbe cesto vode na velikim nadmorskim visinama obzirom da je to izrazito planinski predeo.

Pa da  koji sam glupson. Popio mi poso mozak. Ne vredi mora dobro da odmorim pa da onda kazem nesto ovde.