HAL LCH TD3 Indian Stealth Attack Helicopter makes first flight

The Light Combat Helicopter's third trial aircraft, LCH TD-3, made its first flight on Wednesday.
The twin-seater Technology Demonstrator-3 took off at 3.20 p.m. from the helipad of the Helicopter Division of HAL and flew for 20 minutes. A Dhruv helicopter, also created by HAL, escorted it.
HAL is expected to produce 179 LCHs for the Air Force and the Army.
TD-1 was first flown on March 29, 2010 followed by TD-2 on June 28, 2011.
TD-3 will be continuously test flown for further evaluations, especially with weapons. It will be assessed in very cold and very hot weathers, and in high altitudes and mountainous areas. Later it would be used to fire with a turret gun and rocket.
The four TDs must make nearly 900 flights before the copter gets its IOC, or preliminary flight worthiness clearance. TD-1 and 2 have together flown for 388 flights or 285 hours. TD-3 would need to make 100 flights over the next five months.
thehindu

Indian Army Receives First Rudra Armed Copter

The Indian Army today received its first HAL Rudra armed helicopter.

livefist

IMAGEN DEL LCH, FUTURO HELICÓPTERO DE COMBATE DE LA INDIA

Primer vuelo del LCH, helicóptero de combate de India/India’s first attack copter takes flight

El primer helicóptero de combate desarrollado en la India (LCH), ha realizado su primer vuelo el pasado 23 de mayo de 2010, permitiendo a la India entrar en el club de naciones que desarrollan este tipo de equipamiento.
El hecho ha sido mantenido en un tono bajo, debido a la visita del Ministro de Defensa a Mangalore, a la zona donde se accidentó un avión civil el pasado sábado.
El LCH, ha sido desarrollado por Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) y llevará ahora a cabo una serie de pruebas hasta su entrada en servicio con la Fuerza Aérea y el Ejercito en el periodo 2014-2015.
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India's first indigenous attack helicopter took to the skies on Sunday morning, marking the country’s entry into a league of select nations that can design and manufacture the complex rotary wing attack aircraft.
The maiden flight of the Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) was kept a low-key affair after Defence Minister A K Antony cancelled his visit in the wake of Saturday’s air crash at Mangalore.
The LCH, has been developed by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). It will now go through a series of rigorous tests and evaluations over the next few years before its planned induction into the Army and Air Force by 2014-2015
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Primer Vuelo Helicóptero Ataque Ligero de India (LCH)/India's Light Combat Copter Makes First Flight

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.