India clears biggest ever Rs 62,000 crore deal for buying 156 Light Combat Helicopters

The Cabinet Committee on Security on Friday gave its nod for the biggest ever deal to buy 156 Light Combat Helicopters worth over Rs 62,000 crore for the Indian Army and Air Force from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited.

This would be the biggest order for the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited so far, and the choppers would be built at their plants in Bengaluru and Tumkur in Karnataka.

The 156 choppers would be divided between the Indian Army (90) and the Indian Air Force for operations along the China and Pakistan borders and would be a major step towards creating jobs and expanding the aerospace ecosystem within the country,” defence sources told ANI.

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) received the tender for 156 Light Combat Helicopters (LCH) in June last year.

The IAF is the lead agency for this joint procurement, they said.

The LCH, which is also known as the Prachand, is the world’s only attack helicopter that can land and take off at an altitude of 5,000 meters (16,400 ft), which makes it ideal to operate in the high-altitude areas of the Siachen glacier and Eastern Ladakh.

The Prachand is also capable of firing a range of air-to-ground and air-to-air missiles and can destroy the enemy’s air defence operations.

The government has been emphasising the intention to go for self-reliance in defence manufacturing through Make in India as part of Atmanirbhar Bharat initiatives. The government has placed the biggest order for indigenous defence systems including the 83 Light Combat Aircraft and is in the process of ordering 97 more for which the negotiations have been concluded.

The Cabinet Committee on Security recently cleared the deal for 307 ATAGS howitzers and the deal for it is scheduled to be signed on Wednesday this week. The Rs 7,000 crore deal is divided between two companies, including Bharat Forge and the Tata group.