LCH and other Helicopters Discussion Thread

joygoswami · Post by **joygoswami** » 05 Oct 2014 23:29

Has this been posted before ?

Rocky and Mayur with the desi Akbars

Shrinivasan · Post by **Shrinivasan** » 07 Oct 2014 08:41

joygoswami wrote:Rocky and Mayur with the desi Akbars

Thanks for posting this... It is a pity that they did not show the Hind in action. it is indeed an awesome sight to watch. Particularly when it empties its load of rockets!!!
Njoy this from one of our previous exercises
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOlnJlPyG5o
Edit: I am not able to post it as an inline video.

member_28305 · Post by **member_28305** » 07 Oct 2014 10:42

Why not name the LCH as "KAUSHIK" (sanskrit for OWL) aka Night hunter..

Pratyush · Post by **Pratyush** » 07 Oct 2014 11:26

Whats wrong with its current name??

janmjeya == Victorious by Birth. Or Winner by birth.

Indranil · Post by **Indranil** » 07 Oct 2014 11:28

Rudra and Dhruv are both names of Lord Shiva

member_28305 · Post by **member_28305** » 07 Oct 2014 11:31

Pratyush wrote:Whats wrong with its current name??

janmjeya == Victorious by Birth. Or Winner by birth.

"The missile is not pointy.. round tip of the missile will not scare the enemy. they will think that its a giant Di*do flying towards them"

Quoting from "The Dictator"

No disrespect intended..

nash · Post by **nash** » 07 Oct 2014 13:50

indranilroy wrote:Rudra and Dhruv are both names of Lord Shiva

Then on this line : Shankar, Sambhu, kailash

http://www.indianhindunames.com/names-of-god-shiva.htm

Pratyush · Post by **Pratyush** » 07 Oct 2014 13:51

sibyt wrote: "The missile is not pointy.. round tip of the missile will not scare the enemy. they will think that its a giant Di*do flying towards them"
Quoting from "The Dictator"

No disrespect intended..

I give up.

Thakur_B · Post by **Thakur_B** » 07 Oct 2014 15:28

Venu wrote:
koti wrote:I don't like the name if it. Neither do I think Tejas is good enough.
I am surprised why Gandeev has never been used for anything.
Or Prachanda

Prachand is already taken (ARDE's anti tank mine)

sattili · Post by **sattili** » 07 Oct 2014 15:45

Why not name it as "Parasu" or "Parashu".

Parashu (Sanskrit: paraṣu) is the Sanskrit word for battle-axe. It is generally wielded with two hands but could also be used with only one.

The Parashu was known as the most lethal close combat weapons of the epics. It is also one of the weapons of Lord Shiva and Goddess Durga and is still depicted on their idols throughout India.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parashu

JTull · Post by **JTull** » 07 Oct 2014 20:54

HAL fast-tracks indigenous light combat chopper project

Seeking to fast-track indigenous attack chopper production, the state-owned PSU HAL has invested over Rs 150 crore more for building another two prototypes of the Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) which will help in early completion of the programme.

"We have invested Rs 150 crore more in the project to build two more prototypes of the LCH which will help in advancing the date of Intial Operational Clearance (IOC) from December 2015 to September 2015," HAL Chief RK Tyagi told PTI here.

He said with the addition of the two new protoypes, the testing of the programme would be fastened and the programme would be reviewed further to see if the IOC date can be advanced further.

The LCH is an indigenous attack helicopter development programme and the chopper is planned to be inducted into the IAF and the Army. At present, there are two prototypes of the LCH-- the Technology Demonstrator (TD1) and the TD2.

"Two additional prototypes (TD3 and TD4) are planned to reduce development time leading to IOC. TD3 has been built and has commenced ground runs from September 7 and the TD4 fabrication is under progress," an HAL official said.

A total of 175 flights have been carried out on TD-1 whereas the second prototype has carried out more than 205 test-evaluation flights.

"The next phase of activities are focused on integration of mission systems and weapon systems. Technical and commercial discussions are under progress with respective vendors," the official said.

The two prototypes of the helicopter had taken part in the last edition of the Aero India show and had also flown in the Iron Fist exercise in Jaisalmer last year.

Shrinivasan · Post by **Shrinivasan** » 07 Oct 2014 21:10

LCH TD4, is this HAL's own initiative to speed up testing and thus achieve IOC+FOC? If so it is laudable... HAL's current CMD has been really good or plain lucky... we need both...

srai · Post by **srai** » 07 Oct 2014 21:29

sattili wrote:Why not name it as "Parasu" or "Parashu".

Parashu (Sanskrit: paraṣu) is the Sanskrit word for battle-axe. It is generally wielded with two hands but could also be used with only one.

The Parashu was known as the most lethal close combat weapons of the epics. It is also one of the weapons of Lord Shiva and Goddess Durga and is still depicted on their idols throughout India.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parashu

That name would be more apt for a missile, not for a weapons platform.

For example, "Arjun" is the name of the MBT and its 120mm gun was aptly named "Gandiva" (Arjun's bow). (And APFSDS shot from it could be named "Anjalika" (rod of death), one of Arjun's divine weapons.)

member_20453 · Post by **member_20453** » 07 Oct 2014 23:53

Kalki Attack helicopter sounds like a good name for the LCH. Kalki means ' Destroyer of Filth'. An avatar of Lord Vishnu.

sattili · Post by **sattili** » 08 Oct 2014 08:25

srai wrote: That name would be more apt for a missile, not for a weapons platform.

For example, "Arjun" is the name of the MBT and its 120mm gun was aptly named "Gandiva" (Arjun's bow). (And APFSDS shot from it could be named "Anjalika" (rod of death), one of Arjun's divine weapons.)

Sorry for going OT on this thread....

Saikji my reasoning for the suggestion of "Parasu" is:
1. Parasu is not an expendable weapon like an arrow, it is a close combat weapon. Hence naming an expendable missile doesn't suit.
2. Going with the tradition of naming the HAL helos after Lord Shiva's names (Dhruv, Rudra) its apt to name the LCH after his axe.
3. Parasuram to whom Lord Shiva gave the axe used it repeatedly to cleanse the earth of what he considered evil.

Just my opinion...

My last post on this OT, promise

member_26622 · Post by **member_26622** » 08 Oct 2014 09:12

Septimus P. wrote:Kalki Attack helicopter sounds like a good name for the LCH. Kalki means ' Destroyer of Filth'. An avatar of Lord Vishnu.

Voting for Kalki - 'Destroyer of Filth' >> Pakistan and Filth are one and same!

Shrinivasan · Post by **Shrinivasan** » 08 Oct 2014 10:53

^^^ Of all the names proposed, Kalki the destroyer is the best choice...

kmkraoind · Post by **kmkraoind** » 08 Oct 2014 11:18

Reserve Kalki name for more dangerous and lethal systems. How about Jatayu?

uddu · Post by **uddu** » 08 Oct 2014 11:52

Garuda

member_28305 · Post by **member_28305** » 08 Oct 2014 14:14

Kalki is gud..

even though it suits our future Nuclear weapons more..

Surya · Post by **Surya** » 08 Oct 2014 17:15

+100 @ Marten

One part of India might not understand the name let alone the enemy

Shrinivasan · Post by **Shrinivasan** » 08 Oct 2014 20:07

Awaiting TD3 which is already ready and doing ground runs to take to the skies. This TD4 is an added bonus, hopefully this additional bird will help them achieve IOC and FOC faster. Are there any PVs or LSPs planned?

Rahul M · Post by **Rahul M** » 08 Oct 2014 20:29

we have the newbie & mil misc thread for this kind of thing.

no more cluttering of this thread pls.

Vipul · Post by **Vipul** » 09 Oct 2014 08:25

Narendra Modi government's ‘Make in India’ gets firepower with LUH deal.

The Narendra Modi government is moving swiftly on its plan to indigenise defence production by acquiring 197 light-utility helicopters (LUH) for the armed forces from local firms. It has called a meeting of the domestic companies concerned on October 22 to discuss the request for information (RfI) that was issued in the last week of September.

The government issued an RfI on September 28 to local vendors for reconnaissance and surveillance helicopters (which are LUH) for the Army Aviation Corps (AAC) and the Indian Air Force (IAF), the last date for which is November 28. This follows the termination of the long overdue LUH tender for 197 machines.

The Defence Acquisitions Council led by defence minister Arun Jaitley has decided that the 197 helicopters (that were to be procured from foreign vendors) and 187 helicopters that are in the process of being produced at state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) needed by the armed forces to replace their ageing Cheetah/Chetak fleets will be made in India with foreign collaboration. The step will boost the indigenous defence production sector, and is in tune with Modi’s exhortation to global companies to “Make in India”.

India sought to address the Chetak/Cheetah obsolescence issue by issuing a request for proposals to foreign manufacturers as far back as 2003. This LUH requirement included 197 aircraft, 133 for the army and the rest to the IAF.

In 2007, India was on the verge of declaring a winner with the Eurocopter AS550 C3 Fennec edging out the Bell Textron 407.However, the whole competition was nullified and subsequently relaunched as the reconnaissance and surveillance helicopter (RSH) in 2008. The 197-helicopter deal that was scrapped for the third time over the last decade in August had Russia’s Kamov-226T and the Eurocopter AS550 C3 Fennec locked in competition since 2008.

Repeated delays in procuring new LUHs resulted in the AAC and the IAF opting for 30-35 stopgap Cheetahs from HAL three years ago.

HAL, which is currently working on developing 187 three-tonne LUHs sanctioned by the Cabinet Committee on Security in February 2009 for the armed forces, targets a first flight by next year. With the scrapping of the RSH/LUH programme, HAL has the opportunity to make up for lost time and ensure no further slippages in acquiring systems and getting the chopper off the ground on time next year.

According to a senior official at HAL, “The company's helicopter division has decided to push full throttle on the LUH programme. Land has been acquired in Tumkur in Karnataka for manufacturing the indigenous LUH where a full-fledged helicopter facility is being set up to deal with growing market for the helicopters in the country.”

Commenting on the development, HAL chairman RK Tyagi said, “This will give a boost to indigenisation, and HAL and other organisations have the confidence to take on the challenge.”

Indranil · Post by **Indranil** » 14 Oct 2014 21:34

And now the 56 Naval Utility helicopters will be made in India. Tender for 56 naval choppers scrapped

HAL will soon have serious competition on its hands with respect to helicopters (excellent news). There will be a competitor for LUH, Dhruv (these NUH replacements) and medium-weight IMRH (though NMRH replacements). HAL does hold an upper hand in the ultra-light (LUH) and light-weight (Dhruv) categories for the military. But it has a weaker hand in the light civilian versions and medium-weight helicopters. Interesting times ahead.

Pratyush · Post by **Pratyush** » 15 Oct 2014 10:52

Reading the posted link suggests that the help in question was in the class of the Dhruv. If that was the case then I fail to see the reason why this tender existed in the first place.

I realise that the Dhruv had some rotor folding issues. But given the amount of time this tender was running. The issue could have been resolved in house.

brar_w · Post by **brar_w** » 15 Oct 2014 19:18

Army Configures Apaches for Sea Duty

The U.S. Army is engineering its Apache AH-64 attack helicopters with additional avionics, radar and sensor technology to perform better in maritime environments, service officials said Monday at the Association of the United States Army’s Annual Meeting and Exposition in Washington D.C.

“We’re looking at sensor upgrades to the fire control radar and adding a maritime feature to the Apache. We want to extend the radar and broaden its bandwidth to pick up things in a littoral (shallow water) environment and detect small ships in the water,” said Army Col. Jeff Hager, Apache program manager.

The Army plans to test these and other upgrades in 2017 in order to keep the attack helicopter platform current into the 2050s, Army and Boeing officials said.Part of the Pentagon’s rebalance to the Pacific involves a greater use of land and sea-based assets in the region, underscoring the need for the Army to strengthen its expeditionary capabilities. The Army has conducted multiple exercises with the Navy wherein they landed Army helicopters on Navy ships in order to prepare for these type of contingencies.

Additional upgrades will include software upgrades and improvements to the mission processor, Hager explained.

“The software-based radar improvements will allow crew members to see maritime littoral targets and be able to pick targets out at sea like they do on land,” he added.

The upgrades will also give the Apache the ability to better communicate with assets from other services through a connection with LINK 16, a digital data link used widely by the Air Force and Navy.

“This does give the crew members the ability to see joint assets, so everybody see the same combined aerial picture that we have in the Air Force and Navy,” Hager added.

The first AH-64E Block III Apaches are now returning from combat service in Afghanistan, after deploying this past September. While explaining the newer, high-tech Block III Apache received favorable reviews from crew members and commanders, Hager said the Army will soon begin work on a formal after action review of the aircraft’s combat performance.

The Block III Apaches are built with composite main rotor blades, improved transmission and next-generation avionics.

In addition, the AH-64E helicopters are configured with what’s called Level IV Manned-Unmanned teaming, a technology which gives Apache crews the ability to view live feeds from nearby UAS and also control the sensor payload, Hager explained.

“Adding a hunter-killer capability with manned-unmanned teaming increases the range with UAS,” Hager explained.

srai · Post by **srai** » 31 Oct 2014 07:29

APKWS: How to make a dumb rocket smarter

Victor · Post by **Victor** » 31 Oct 2014 08:18

Name wise, Jatayu is still available afaik. Better for a jet fighter though.

tushar_m · Post by **tushar_m** » 01 Nov 2014 09:06

No TD3 till now !!!!

It is suppose to be different from TD-1 & TD-2

member_27164 · Post by **member_27164** » 01 Nov 2014 20:09

Name wise, Jatayu is still available afaik. Better for a jet fighter though.

sorry but jatayu is killed by ravana during their duel. so in that sense that name is not much appropriate.

sattili · Post by **sattili** » 02 Nov 2014 06:21

^^^^^^
Gents, an adminullah has already warned not to indulge in name choosing exercise for LCH on this thread.

member_27164 · Post by **member_27164** » 02 Nov 2014 14:00

^^
ohh. sorry. wasnt following br from few days. must have missed the warning.

Shreeman · Post by **Shreeman** » 06 Nov 2014 11:38

credit -- original poster elsewhere.

Thakur_B · Post by **Thakur_B** » 06 Nov 2014 15:23

Marten wrote: Question is has the bird been out for ground tests!

Been doing that since september 7.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/new ... 630355.cms

Kartik · Post by **Kartik** » 06 Nov 2014 17:35

so the changes in the canopy are now visible on TD-3 as was mentioned by Wng Cmdr Hari Nair on BRF many moons ago.

JTull · Post by **JTull** » 06 Nov 2014 19:00

Kartik wrote:so the changes in the canopy are now visible on TD-3 as was mentioned by Wng Cmdr Hari Nair on BRF many moons ago.

There's more protection with those 3 armour plates added to side windows.

Indranil · Post by **Indranil** » 06 Nov 2014 19:12

Not just there. There are/will be armor plates on the side panel below the windows, in front of foot area of the WSO, and in critical sections of the boom.

There is one more change. The cowling near the exhaust has changed. Probably, the infrared suppression is now incorporated.

P.S. Must say the blending between the stub wing and the body is much more beautiful now.

JTull · Post by **JTull** » 07 Nov 2014 01:18

The winglet (for antenna or pitot) just below and front of front pilot's window also seems to be gone.

What is the source of this picture. Would love to see some more pictures of TD-3

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 07 Nov 2014 10:17

to me the cockpit roofline has some room for coming tighter and lower and making it less roomy than at present.
the apache and most other gunships keeps the shoulder and headroom quite compact
http://madworldnews.com/wp-content/uplo ... Apache.jpg

our munna has that extra glass section in the middle and is very roomy cockpit which kinds of reminds me of the ov10 bronco
http://www.ov-10bronco.net/Pix/USAF/usa ... _13554.jpg

less glass to hit is always better imo..less attack surface. also the saved weight in extra glass can go into thicker armour and thicker glass.