Chinese Threat: Army To Improve Its Air Power With Prachand In Missamari, Assam

The Indian Army is getting ready to use the homegrown Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) Prachand in Missamari, Assam. These helicopters will serve the front lines along the Line of Actual Control in Arunachal Pradesh. Sources say that the Army will send four LCHs to Missamari by the end of this month.

Even though the Center gave the Army permission to get three of the five LCH, they are still in Bengaluru. The same is true for the 10 LCH that were given to the Indian Air Force. These will be sent out into the field, and by the end of this month, four of them will be in use. Sources say that the fifth one will also be sent out in November.

The headquarters of one of the three Army Aviation brigades is in Missamari. The other two are in Leh and Jodhpur.

In March 2021, the Missamari Aviation Brigade was formed to improve the Army’s air capabilities and help support ground forces in the eastern sector. This was done because Chinese military infrastructure was getting better and better. With the new brigade and long-range surveillance drones, radars, and night vision, satellite imagery gives a clear picture of what the Chinese are doing across the LAC.

In addition to the weaponized Advanced Light Helicopters (ALH) Dhruva and Rudra, as well as the upgraded Israeli Heron UAVs, the LCH will also be used.

The helicopter is powerful for anti-tank and other offensive operations that target ground positions and air-to-air combat. It would be a strong platform that the Indian Air Force and the Indian Army could use to do their jobs. Planned, the Army will need 95 more of these helicopters, while the IAF will need 65 more.

Since the fight with China in Ladakh began in 2020, the Army has been improving its air power to help the ground forces and keep an eye on what China is doing.

The Army Aviation Corps is made up of helicopters that fly in both war zones and places where there is peace. The Indian Army’s aviation corps is very important because it is used to get hurt soldiers out of high altitude areas where there are operations or health emergencies. On November 1, 1986, the Army Aviation Corps was created.

Not only has the aviation corps been very important in operations like Kargil in the past, but it has also been at the forefront of doing many different jobs during the current standoff between India and China in Ladakh. Army Aviation Corps choppers are used for reconnaissance, observation, transporting wounded soldiers, dropping off essential supplies, and search and rescue in combat.

The LCH is a good choice for mountain warfare because it is quick and easy to move around. It can take off and land with a load even at 16,000 feet.

Defense Minister Rajnath Singh was at the ceremony in Jodhpur where the helicopter was put into service by the IAF. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) made a helicopter that can do Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR), Destruction of Enemy Air Defence (DEAD), Counter Insurgency (CI), take on slow-moving aircraft and Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPAs), and high-altitude bunker-busting operations.

In March of this year, the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS), which is led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, gave its approval for the purchase of 15 Light Combat Helicopters (LCH) at a cost of Rs 3,887 crore, as well as approvals for infrastructure worth Rs 377 crore.