South Korean Light Armed Helicopter (LAH) is Challenging India’s LCH ‘Prachand’

India and South Korea are manufacturing similar lines of products (Light Armed Helicopter), which has positioned them as competitors in the global export market.

• The Competitors: India’s Tejas and South Korea’s FA-50 Light Combat Aircraft (LAC)
• Aim: to get the Malaysian Light Attack Fighter contract.

Who has the upper hand?

• The South Korean aircraft appears to be having a slight advantage over the Indian LCA.
• South Korea has now also decided to accelerate the production of its Light Armed Helicopter.
• It authorized a 5.75 trillion won (US$4.3 billion) plan to begin mass production of a homegrown light-armed helicopter (LAH) in the coming months.

India’s Light Combat Helicopter (LCH):

• The LCH is the only attack helicopter in the world which can land and take off at an altitude of 5,000 meters with a considerable load of weapons and fuel.
• The helicopter uses radar-absorbing material to lower radar signature and has a significantly crash-proof structure and landing gear.
• A pressurized cabin offers protection from Nuclear, Biological and Chemical (NBC) contingencies.
• The helicopter is equipped with a countermeasure dispensing system that protects it from enemy radars or infrared seekers of enemy missiles.
• LCH is powered by two French-origin Shakti engines manufactured by the HAL.

KAI Light Armed Helicopter (LAH) of South Korea:

• Project Type: Light-armed helicopter
• Manufacturer: Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI)
• Engine: The helicopter is powered by two Arriel 2L2 turboshaft engines.
• First Flight: July 2019
• Cruise Distance: 411 kilometres
• Operation time: Two hours and 35 minutes
• Armament: The rotorcraft is armed with a chin-mounted 20mm Gatling-type gun.

Comparison:

Challenges Related to the Defence Sector in India:

• High Dependence on Imports: The defence sector in India relies heavily on imports, and changing geopolitical circumstances cause it to be delayed.
• Narrow Private Participation: Private sector participation in the defence sector is constrained by the lack of a conducive financial framework, which means our defence production is unable to benefit from modern design, innovation, and product development.
• Lack of Critical Technology: Lack of design capability, inadequate R&D investment, and inability to manufacture major subsystems and components hamper indigenous manufacturing.
• Lack of Nexus between Stakeholders: India's defence manufacturing capability is hindered by overlapping jurisdictions between the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Industrial Promotion.

AtmaNirbhar India in Defence:

• Establishment of Defence Industrial Corridor
• Modernization with Indigenization

• Defense Manufacturing Ecosystem
• Indigenisation with Private Boom
• Defence Investor Cell
• Inclusion of Defence Entrepreneurs in Policy Making
• Strengthening the Economy with Strategic Independence