New Delhi: Army will deploy the Rudra Advance
Light Helicopter (ALH) armed with advance air-to-air and
anti-tank missiles along the Pakistan border in the near
future.
The weaponised chopper is planned to be deployed along the
western front, Army sources said here.
The induction of weaponised version of ALH, rechristened
Rudra, with the integration of weapon system from 20 mm turret
gun, 70 mm rockets and Anti-Tank Guided Missiles (ATGM) is in
final stages, they said.
Armed with an array of guns, rocket pods, air-to-air and
anti-tank guided missiles, the choppers will provide the field
commanders the ability to apply decisive combat power at
critical times anywhere in the battle field, they said.
The 5.5 tonne class twin-engine chopper has a number of
advanced features such as Automatic Flight Control System,
Integrated Dynamic System, Full Authority Digital Electronic
Control and can cruise at speeds of 250 km per hour.
Necessary changes have been made in the airframe of the
chopper to give it agility and speed and to make it a suitable
support weapon for the ground troops.
The chopper has been named `Rudra`, one of the names of
Lord Shiva who is worshiped as the destroyer of enemies, to
signify the helicopter`s firepower and capabilities.
Meanwhile, army is all set to replace its ageing fleet of
helicopters with induction of new versions of light and combat
choppers.
The induction of 197 light observation helicopters is in
the final stages. Meanwhile, army will induct 114 Light Combat
Helicopters (LCH) suited for deployment along the mountainous
terrain, sources said.
LCH which is being designed and manufactured by Hindustan
Aeronautics Limited (HAL) carried out its maiden flight in
March last year.
The proposal of inducting tactical battle support
helicopters, also known as Indian Multi Role Helicopter (IMRH)
of 10-20 tone class is also in the pipeline, they said.
At present army has a fleet of over 250 helicopters. With
the new inductions in the pipeline, as per the long term
perspective plan, the army will be able to plan and conduct
operations in the Tactical Battle Area (TBA) without any
hindrance, the sources said.
PTI
