MoD Expedites Negotiations to Finalize ₹53,000 Crore Deal for 156 Indigenous Prachand LCH by March 2025

The Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) is pushing to finalize one of the largest indigenous defence deals in its history by the end of the current financial year, March 2025.

This landmark deal involves the procurement of 156 Prachand Light Combat Helicopters (LCH) from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), with an estimated value of ₹53,000 crore (approximately $6 billion).

This significant order will see 90 LCHs joining the Indian Army's aviation wing and 66 bolstering the Indian Air Force's (IAF) fleet.

The Prachand LCH is renowned for its high-altitude operational capabilities, with the ability to land and take off at 5,000 meters (16,400 feet), making it ideal for deployment in challenging terrains like the Himalayas.

The helicopter is also equipped with a range of modern weaponry, including air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles, ensuring its combat effectiveness.

The deal has progressed rapidly. The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) granted the Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) in November 2023, a crucial step in the procurement process. Following this, a Request for Proposal (RFP) was issued to HAL in June 2024, initiating the tender process.

With the financial year drawing to a close, the MoD is accelerating negotiations to finalize the contract by March 2025. This urgency reflects not only the strategic military need for these advanced helicopters but also the potential economic benefits.

This substantial order for HAL is expected to provide a significant boost to the domestic defence industry, promoting local manufacturing, job creation, and technological advancement.

The Prachand LCH program represents a major success story for India's "Make in India" initiative in the defence sector. This deal will significantly enhance the capabilities of the Indian Army and IAF, while also contributing to the growth of the indigenous defence industry.

 

[sanket]

Thats Good News, HAL has Tumkur Facility which is biggest in Asia for Assembling choppers, US havent yet delivered 6 Apache choppers yet almost delyaed deliveries by one year

 

[Kailash]

Hoping to aim of planning to order possibly before the expiration of the financial year and the return of unused funds back to MoF. Some things never change in our procurement practises.

First flight in 2010, AON in Nov 2023. Order yet to be signed. Only HAL with its unlimited funds can even cope with this customer (IAF/IA) and invest its own money in inventing things whose necessity is not accepted until 13 years after product is made. Sorry to say that Chinese and Pakistanis are not our greatest enemies.

 

[GMR]

Let's see, Let's see. All our defence stake holders like a competition among each other to prove who can cause more delay in every procurement. An example here, another example is IA plans to take trial of MGS till 2026, for god's sake, it's a gun only..

 

[Akshat]

Hoping to aim of planning to order possibly before the expiration of the financial year and the return of unused funds back to MoF. Some things never change in our procurement practises.

First flight in 2010, AON in Nov 2023. Order yet to be signed. Only HAL with its unlimited funds can even cope with this customer (IAF/IA) and invest its own money in inventing things whose necessity is not accepted until 13 years after product is made. Sorry to say that Chinese and Pakistanis are not our greatest enemies.

Most of the funds given to MoD, since 2019, have been utilized. In some years they have in fact exceeded that and asked for supplementary funds. If you pick any given year, more than 99% of the funds have definitely been used. The tradition of returning the funds is an old thing.

As for delays, please remember that even till now, Prachand has not been proven to fire an ATGM, which is like the single biggest job of an attack chopper. So indeed, only IA/IAF can cope with such a developer who hasn't demonstrated even the most basic requirement even 13 years after the product is made, and yet place orders and induct the product. So yeah, Chinese and Pakistanis are indeed not our greatest enemies.

 

[Preet]

Most of the funds given to MoD, since 2019, have been utilized. In some years they have in fact exceeded that and asked for supplementary funds. If you pick any given year, more than 99% of the funds have definitely been used. The tradition of returning the funds is an old thing.

As for delays, please remember that even till now, Prachand has not been proven to fire an ATGM, which is like the single biggest job of an attack chopper. So indeed, only IA/IAF can cope with such a developer who hasn't demonstrated even the most basic requirement even 13 years after the product is made, and yet place orders and induct the product. So yeah, Chinese and Pakistanis are indeed not our greatest enemies.

Everyone is to be blamed. If you didn't hear the IAF Air Chief Marshal AP Singh talk recently about the stupid long testing times by IAF and delays due to that, then you should hear him as well.

Galti sabki hai. Tu bhai kya anti-PSU agenda leke chal raha hai🤣 sometimes I feel you are that guy from "Flying wedge" company...that fat guy showing that fat bomber drone🤣🤣

 

[Akshat]

Everyone is to be blamed. If you didn't hear the IAF Air Chief Marshal AP Singh talk recently about the stupid long testing times by IAF and delays due to that, then you should hear him as well.

Galti sabki hai. Tu bhai kya anti-PSU agenda leke chal raha hai🤣 sometimes I feel you are that guy from "Flying wedge" company...that fat guy showing that fat bomber drone🤣🤣

Even DRDO was not able to say that Tejas can be deployed in combat till 2018. This was given in writing to MoD by DRDO. But you would like to put the blame on someone else even for that, no? The developer itself says, in written, that the plane shouldn't be used for combat under any circumstances, but lets blame IAF for that, right?

 

[Preet]

Even DRDO was not able to say that Tejas can be deployed in combat till 2018. This was given in writing to MoD by DRDO. But you would like to put the blame on someone else even for that, no? The developer itself says, in written, that the plane shouldn't be used for combat under any circumstances, but lets blame IAF for that, right?

And yet again I say, everyone is to be blamed. Forces are equally to be blamed for their ever-going testing. If Tejas wasn't combat-ready until 2018, there is a reason because it was delayed at trial and testing stages way too much as well. A plane is made combat-ready only after its trials are completed. That's basic common sense. Another example is the ATAGS fiasco. You name it, we have mess-ups caused by the forces' indecisiveness too. The Airforce and Army both are plagued by slow decision-making. We can't even go ahead on refuelers or AEWACS even when we are so short. Don't blame HAL or DRDO for that too🤣

 

[Swetank Bharti]

HAL has capacity to produce upto 30 LCH Prachand every year, so it can 5 years to induct 150 of them.