HAL LCH TD-3 Passes Hot & High Altitude Trails at Leh - First Attack Helicopter to Land at Siachen

[Chanakya's_Chant]

HAL completes hot, high altitude trials of LCH at Leh​

The Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) undergoing the hot and high altitude trials at Leh recently.​

BENGALURU, SEPT 3: HAL has successfully carried out the hot and high altitude trials of the indigenously designed and developed attack chopper, the Light Combat Helicopter (LCH), at Leh.

“These seasonal trials — including cold weather trials carried out at Leh in February this year — have been completed as part of the certification process. The flight trials at Leh have established hover performance and low-speed handling characteristics of the helicopter under extreme weather conditions at different altitudes (3200 to 4800 metres),” said T Suvarna Raju, CMD, HAL.

“During the trials, the helicopter and systems performed satisfactorily. LCH has also proven its capability to land and take off at the forward landing base in Siachen. LCH is the first attack helicopter to land in the forward bases at Siachen,” he added.

The trials were carried out on the third prototype of LCH (TD3) at Leh at temperatures ranging from 13 to 27 degree centigrade with the participation of user pilots from the Air Force, Army and representatives from CEMILAC and DGAQA. The tests included assessment and validation of flight envelope in ‘hot-and-high’ conditions, culminating in landing at forward bases at geographic elevations of 13,600 feet to 15,800 feet. These landings and take-offs were demonstrated with reasonable weapon load and fuel.

Challenges at Leh

The upper reaches of the Indus river and its tributaries, Nubra and Shyok, are home to the Ladakh and Eastern Karakorum Ranges, with multiple lofty peaks of over 25,000 feet and an average ridgeline elevation of 20,000 feet.

It is also home to the largest glaciated area outside the Polar regions and is sometimes called the ‘Third Pole’. Siachen is the largest glacier here and is central to this region. The area experiences summer during July-August, during which time temperatures soar to above 30 degrees in standard atmosphere conditions.

This mix of extreme altitudes and relatively high temperatures (‘Hot-and-High’) sap helicopter performance and as such few helicopters are able to operate effectively all year.

Source:- HAL completes hot, high altitude trials of LCH at Leh | Business Line

 

[Srinivas]

Good news !!

We need to induct LCH's in large numbers !!

 

[Ind4Ever]

Good going ....

 

[Water Car Engineer]

Where is TD4!!?

 

[samlove]

when are we going for full rate production , as we are seeing trials on trails , what about production

 

[Chanakya's_Chant]

when are we going for full rate production , as we are seeing trials on trails , what about production

Serial Production starts only after an FOC is obtained by the users that is Army Aviation Corps and IAF. IOC was scheduled for September 2015 - will probably be granted by year end. TD-4 is still to come - Limited Series Production will commence in 2017-18.

Light Combat Helicopters to enter production in 2017-18 - The Hindu

 

[Paranoid Android]

looks deadly..

 

[Chanakya's_Chant]

Earlier this year LCH TD-2 had also undergone cold weather tests at Leh. TD-3 has significant improvements over TD-2.

​

LIVEFIST: Indian Light Combat Copter Goes Through Cold Tests

 

[thestringshredder]

India's Light Combat Helicopter Gets Hot & High

These great photos and statement out of HAL today on the LCH's progress, including hot & high tests in Ladakh. Here's what they sent out:

HAL successfully carried out the hot and the high-altitude trials of indigenously designed, developed attack chopper Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) at Leh recently. “These seasonal trials - including cold weather trials carried out at Leh during February this year - have been completed as part of the certification process. The flight trials at Leh have established hover performance and low speed handling characteristics of the helicopter under extreme weather conditions at different altitudes (3200 to 4800 m). During the trials, the helicopter and systems performed satisfactorily. LCH also has proven its capability to land and take off at Forward Landing Base in Siachen. LCH is the first attack helicopter to land in Forward Bases at Siachen”, says Mr.T. Suvarna Raju, CMD, HAL.

The trials were carried out on the third prototype of LCH (TD3) at Leh at the temperatures ranging from 13 to 27 degree centigrade with the participation of user pilots from Air Force, Army and representatives from CEMILAC and DGAQA. Various tests included assessment and validation of flight envelope in ‘Hot-and-High’ conditions, culminating in landing at forward bases at geographic elevations of 13,600 feet to 15,800 feet. These landings and take-offs were demonstrated with reasonable amount of weapon load and fuel.

Challenges at Leh:

The upper reaches of the Indus river and its tributaries, Nubra and Shyok are home to the mighty Ladakh and Eastern Karakorum Ranges, with multiple lofty peaks over 25,000 feet and an average ridgeline elevation of 20,000 feet. It is also home to the largest glaciated area outside the Polar Regions and is sometimes called the ‘Third Pole’. The Siachen is the largest glacier here and is central to this region. The area experiences a period of summer during July-August in which temperatures soar to 30 degrees above standard atmosphere conditions. This mix of extreme altitudes and relatively high temperatures (‘Hot-and-High’) saps helicopter performance and as such, a few types of helicopters are able to operate effectively all year around.

LCH Progress:

With the extensive trials carried out on three prototypes at Bengaluru, sea level at Chennai in November 2013, cold weather at Leh during January/February 2015, hot weather at Jodhpur in July 2015 and hot and high altitude trials at a few days ago at Leh, the performance and handling qualities of the helicopter have been established for basic configuration (with EO Pod, Rocket launchers, Turret Gun and Air-to-Air missile launchers). The system functionalities have been assessed and found satisfactory during the trials and long-duration ferry across India. Further development activities are under progress and the weapon firing trials are planned during in the middle of 2016.

The advantage of indigenous development of helicopters such as ALH, LCH and LUH at HAL is that the users’ requirement are well captured right from early design stage and are fine-tuned as the project progresses with the involvement of users so that the product complies to the stringent operational requirements at high altitudes (Himalayan and North Eastern terrains).

Link - LIVEFIST: India's Light Combat Helicopter Gets Hot & High

 

[Chanakya's_Chant]

This is one of the first attack helicopters built for high-altitude warfare - probably the most agile design in the world because of its rotor. The LCH has already undergone a 'cold weather soak' in Leh where the chopper's systems performance were tested in -20 degree temperatures.

The mean machine will have an elaborate arsenal: 20mm Turret Guns, 70mm rocket-launchers and Air-to-Air missiles among others. It is also expected to include Air-to-Ground anti-tank missiles. The choice for this category is the third generation fire-and-forget' anti-tank missile developed in DRDO - Nag.

During development of LCH, HAL Board sanctioned LCH related projects, namely, Modified Rotor System, Manufacturing of TD-3 & TD-4 for acceleration of development flight testing, indigenous development of Integrated Avionics and Display System (lADS) & Automatic Flight Control System (AFCS) in order to reduce the dependency on foreign vendors and develop indigenous technology.

​

Ardiden 1H1 engine to power HAL LCH -

LCH's Avionics Display Systems -

 

[The Great One]

This is one of the first attack helicopters built for high-altitude warfare - probably the most agile design in the world because of its rotor. The LCH has already undergone a 'cold weather soak' in Leh where the chopper's systems performance were tested in -20 degree temperatures.

The mean machine will have an elaborate arsenal: 20mm Turret Guns, 70mm rocket-launchers and Air-to-Air missiles among others. It is also expected to include Air-to-Ground anti-tank missiles. The choice for this category is the third generation fire-and-forget' anti-tank missile developed in DRDO - Nag.

During development of LCH, HAL Board sanctioned LCH related projects, namely, Modified Rotor System, Manufacturing of TD-3 & TD-4 for acceleration of development flight testing, indigenous development of Integrated Avionics and Display System (lADS) & Automatic Flight Control System (AFCS) in order to reduce the dependency on foreign vendors and develop indigenous technology.

​

Ardiden 1H1 engine to power HAL LCH -

​

Oddly HAL website states that LCH power is only 895kW. Similarly Dhruv III rated at 899kW. Looks like a transmission bottleneck.

 

[Abingdonboy]

She has the same gun fairing that was seen on TD-2 but not on TD-3 earlier at Aero India 2015, it certainly makes the whole design look very sleek.

 

[#hydra#]

Earlier this year LCH TD-2 had also undergone cold weather tests at Leh. TD-3 has significant improvements over TD-2.

​

LIVEFIST: Indian Light Combat Copter Goes Through Cold Tests

I like td2 paint scheme.

 

[zambino]

When will it enter service in good numbers ? Going through previous production records of hal. 2020 seems more realistic.

 

[Abingdonboy]

When will it enter service in good numbers ? Going through previous production records of hal. 2020 seems more realistic.

Around 2018.