The defence ministry on Friday firmed up procurement of 156 light combat helicopter 'Prachand' from Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd at a cost of Rs 62,700 crore, shortly after the Cabinet Committee on Security chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi cleared the acquisition to bolster the combat capability of the military.
Light Combat Helicopter Prachand is India's first indigenously designed and developed combat helicopter having a capability of operating at an altitude of over 5000 metres.
Following the decision by the CCS, the defence ministry signed two contracts with the HAL for the procurement.
The CCS approved the proposal to buy 156 LCH 'Prachand' worth over Rs 62,500 crore from HAL, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said.
"This decision marks a major boost to India's combat capabilities and self reliance in defence," he said on X.
Capable of operating from high altitude terrain and carrying out precision strikes at high altitude targets, 'Prachand' is a powerful machine, he said.
"The Cabinet's decision taken today will create more than 8500 jobs. This is indeed a proud moment for India's Make in India journey. I thank PM Narendra Modi for taking this important decision," he said.
The defence ministry said the first contract it signed with HAL is for supply of 66 Prachand helicopters to the Indian Air Force while the second one is for buying 90 choppers for the Indian Army.
"The ministry of defence on March 28 signed two contracts with HAL for supply of 156 Light Combat Helicopters (LCH), Prachand, along with training and other associated equipment worth Rs 62,700 crore, excluding taxes," the ministry said in a statement.
Developed by HAL, the 5.8-tonne twin-engine LCH is armed with various weapon systems and is capable of destroying enemy tanks, bunkers, drones and other assets in high-altitude regions.
The helicopter possesses modern stealth characteristics, robust armour protection and formidable night attack capability, and it is fully capable of even operating in Siachen, the world's highest battle-field.
The ministry said the supply of these helicopters "shall commence from the third year and will be spread over the next five years".
It said the choppers will enhance the combat capability of armed forces at high altitudes.
"This helicopter has a large number of components designed and manufactured in India and it is planned to achieve an overall indigenous content of over 65 per cent during the execution of this procurement," it said.
"This will involve over 250 domestic companies mostly MSMEs and will generate over 8,500 direct and indirect jobs," it said.
The defence ministry also signed a contract with Metrea Management for "wet-leasing" of one flight refuelling aircraft (FRA) for providing air-to-air refuelling training to pilots of IAF and Indian Navy.
Metrea will provide FRA (KC135 Aircraft) within six months which will be the first FRA to be wet leased by the IAF, it said.
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