El 29 de marzo ha realizado su primer vuelo el Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) de HAL, India, un año después de lo previsto y afrontando críticas por los varios kilos de sobrepeso de su diseño. Se espera que sea un helicóptero de grandes prestaciones, ya que tendrá que operar desde gran altitud (Himalaya). El exceso de peso ha sido la principal razón para el retraso del LCH, debido a la alta protección que necesitan estos helicópteros para protegerse del fuego enemigo, soportando 580 kg. mas de los 2.500 previstos.
Las necesidades de la Fuerza Aérea India son de 65 LCH y las del Ejército de 114. La entrada en servicio está prevista para 2015-2016.
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As the helicopter taxied slowly along the airstrip, a little knot of designers and executives from Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) watched silently, the sweat beads on their foreheads from more than just the Bangalore heat. March 29 had been selected for a landmark attempt: The first flight of the indigenous Light Combat Helicopter (LCH). Already a year late, and facing criticism for having gone several hundred kilograms overweight, the LCH had much to prove. HAL’s state-of-the-art LCH aims to gatecrash an exclusive club of light attack helicopters that includes Eurocopter’s Tiger and China’s ultra-secret Zhisheng-10 (Z-10). In high-altitude performance, the LCH will be in a class by itself: Taking off from Himalayan altitudes of 10,000 feet, operating rockets and guns up to 16,300 feet, and launching missiles at UAVs flying at over 21,000 feet.
Excess weight has been the main reason for the delay in the LCH programme. The heavy armour needed for protection against enemy fire conflicts with the need for a light, highly mobile helicopter that can twist and dodge and hover stationary to allow pilots to aim and fire their missiles. The LCH was supposed to weight just 2.5 tonnes when empty; but the design team found that it actually weighed 580 kg more than that.
At lower altitudes, this would not be a significant drawback. But, at the LCH’s flight ceiling of 6,000 metres (almost 20,000 feet), this would significantly reduce the LCH’s payload of weapons and ammunition.
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has said that it needs 65 LCHs; the army wants another 114. If the development programme is not delayed further, the LCH will enter service by 2015-2016.
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