South Korean Light Armed Helicopter (LAH) is Challenging India’s LCH ‘Prachand’
- Category
Science & Technology
- Published
3rd Dec, 2022
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Context
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:
KAI Light Armed Helicopter (LAH)
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Light Combat Helicopter (Prachand)
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Weight: 4.9-ton
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Weight: 5.8-ton
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Maximum speed: 275 kmph
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Maximum speed: 243 kmph
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Maximum Range: 857 km
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Maximum Range: 500 km
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Utility: Destroying Tanks; light attacks; close-air support, escort, and troop transport.
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Utility: Air-to-air operations; escort operations, support of combat search and rescue operations, and anti-tank and anti-infantry operations.
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Equipment: four-axis automatic flight control system (AFCS), a helmet-mounted display, a fire control system (FCS), and an anti-jamming global positioning system (GPS).
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Equipment: Electro-Optical Pod consisting of a CCD camera, FLIR, Laser Range Finder (LRF), and Laser Designator (LD)
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High Altitude Operations: NO
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High Altitude Operations: Yes. It is based on India’s unique security considerations, which are different from that of Seoul.
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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
Important addition in the Defence Sector:
- Defence India Startup Challenge
- INS Vikrant: Aircraft Carrier
- Dhanush: Long-range artillery gun
- Arihant: Nuclear Submarine
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- Defense Manufacturing Ecosystem
- Indigenisation with Private Boom
- Defence Investor Cell
- Inclusion of Defence Entrepreneurs in Policy Making
- Strengthening the Economy with Strategic Independence