HAL to build combat choppers worth Rs 3,465 crore

Armed with a 20-mm turret gun, 70-mm rockets, air-to-air and anti-tank guided missiles, the LCH can pour fire onto enemy positions, easing their capture by Indian infantrymen

On Friday, the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Indian Army initiated the purchase of 15 indigenously designed and built Light Combat Helicopters (LCH) from Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL). The IAF will take ten helicopters, and the army five.

Business Standard learns from HAL sources that the cost of each LCH will be Rs 231 crore, putting the overall cost of the order at Rs 3,465 crore.

These “limited series production” LCHs would be built in Bengaluru, at a facility that former defence minister Arun Jaitley inaugurated in August. Subsequently, HAL will set up a large-scale manufacturing facility in Tumkur to build