The Indian Army and the Indian Air Force will order around 199 Light Utility Helicopters (LUH) from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), ANI reported on Tuesday, citing defence officials. The public sector firm has already built 12 LUH helicopters and orders for another 187 are in the pipeline, taking the total to 199, with the project expected to be worth over Rs 20,000 crore (yaani about Rs 200 billion), the officials said.

Source: ANI via New Kerala

SSBCrack Exams, reporting the same officials, also put the programme at 12 helicopters already built by HAL with another 187 in the pipeline, for a total of about 199 aircraft valued at more than Rs 20,000 crore. These are planned orders described by officials, not a signed contract announced by HAL.

Source: SSBCrack Exams

199LUH planned in total — 12 built, 187 in pipeline
Rs 20,000 crore+Expected programme value (yaani ~Rs 200 billion)
~400Cheetah and Chetak helicopters due to retire
6.5 kmLUH service ceiling; 350 km range with 500 kg payload

A 3-tonne indigenous replacement for Cheetah and Chetak

The LUH has been designed and developed by HAL as a replacement for the Cheetah and Chetak helicopters operated by the Indian armed forces, ANI said. It is a new-generation helicopter in the 3-tonne class with a glass cockpit with multi-function displays, powered by a single turbo-shaft engine with sufficient power margin for demanding high-altitude missions, and is being developed to fly at 220 kmph with a service ceiling of 6.5 km and a range of 350 km with a 500 kg payload, according to the report.

Source: ANI via New Kerala

Defence Watch reported that the helicopter is in the final stages of military airworthiness certification and mission-equipment integration, that HAL aimed to deliver the first 12 limited-series production helicopters in the 2027-28 financial year subject to certification and induction clearances, and that production at HAL's Tumakuru facility in Karnataka starts at around 30 helicopters a year and is expected to rise to about 60 a year. Its roles include reconnaissance, surveillance, troop transport, logistics support, casualty evacuation and search and rescue, the report said.

Source: Defence Watch

The two services' total requirement is around 400 light helicopters to replace their vintage Cheetah and Chetak fleet, of which around 400 aircraft are scheduled to be retired in the coming years, ANI said. The Army and Air Force are expected to operate three different types of light helicopters, with about 50 per cent coming from private-sector firms and the rest from public-sector firms, it added. Light helicopters are used extensively for reconnaissance and surveillance along India's frontiers, from Siachen in the north to Arunachal Pradesh in the northeast.

Source: ANI via New Kerala

Separately, the Defence Acquisition Council on Monday approved a Rs 20,000 crore proposal to buy 200 light multirole helicopters for the Army and Air Force, to be built in India with Indian companies in the lead and the contract expected to be split between the lowest and second-lowest bidders, ANI reported on October 26. Defence sources cited in that report named Tata with Airbus, the Adani Group with Leonardo of Italy, and Bell Helicopters of the US as expected participants. India had chosen the Russian Ka-226 in 2014 as the Cheetah-Chetak replacement, but that programme could not move forward and earlier tenders had to be scrapped, ANI said.

Source: ANI via LatestLY