Govt inks ₹62,700-cr deal with HAL for 156 LCHs
The defence ministry has signed two contracts worth ₹62,700 crore with HAL for 156 Prachand light combat helicopters for the armed forces, a statement said.
The defence ministry on Friday signed two contracts worth ₹62,700 crore with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for 156 Prachand light combat helicopters for the armed forces, an official statement said.
The contracts were signed hours after the PM-headed Cabinet Committee on Security cleared the purchase, three days before the financial year 2024-25 ends.
The first contract is for 66 LCHs along with associated equipment for the IAF, and the second one for 90 helicopters for the army.
HAL will begin supplying the helicopters in three years and complete the deliveries by 2033, the defence ministry said in a statement.
“The contracts will enhance the combat capability of armed forces at high altitudes. LCH is India’s first indigenously designed and developed combat helicopter having a capability of operating at an altitude of over 5,000 metres,” it said, adding that the HAL will achieve an indigenous content of over 65% during the execution of this procurement.
This will involve over 250 domestic companies, mostly MSMEs, and will generate over 8,500 direct and indirect jobs.
The two contracts are together the biggest order for a locally made platform after the air force ordered 83 light combat aircraft (LCA Mk-1A) for ₹48,000 crore in February 2021. The IAF plans to buy 97 more Mk-1As at a cost of around ₹67,000 crore.
HAL has so far manufactured 15 limited series production Prachand helicopters for IAF (10) and army (5), and now the series production will begin.
LCH can perform a variety of missions such as destruction of enemy air defences, it can target slow moving aircraft and remotely piloted aircraft, destroy high-altitude bunkers, carry out counter-insurgency operations in jungle and urban environments and provide support to ground forces.
These helicopters figure on the government’s positive indigenisation lists, which seek to ban the import of different types of weapons and systems over the next five years to boost self-reliance in defence.
The defence ministry slapped an import ban on 509 big weapons and systems in the recent years.
India has taken a raft of measures during the last five to six years to boost self-reliance in the defence manufacturing sector. Apart from a series of phased import bans, these steps include creating a separate budget for buying locally made military hardware, increasing foreign direct investment (FDI) from 49% to 74% and improving ease of doing business.
On Friday, the defence ministry also signed a contract with Metrea Management for wet leasing of a flight refuelling aircraft (FRA) for training IAF and navy pilots, the statement said. Metrea will provide a KC135 aircraft within six months, the first FRA to be leased by the IAF.
With signing of these three deals, the ministry has concluded 193 contracts in FY 2024-25 with a total value of nearly ₹2.1 lakh crore. “Out of these, the contracts to domestic industry are 177 (92%) with contract value ₹1,68,922 crore (81%),” the statement added.
On Wednesday, the ministry signed two contracts worth ₹6,900 crore with Bharat Forge Limited and Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL) to boost the Indian Army’s firepower with 307 locally made artillery guns along with high mobility towing vehicles.
