India inducts first HAL Light Combat Helicopter into service

The Indian Air Force officially inducted its first Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) – serial ZF4831 – into service on October 3. The event took place at Air Force Station Jodhpur, Rajasthan, in the presence of the IAF Chief of Air Staff Air Chief Marshal V.R. Chaudhari, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Chief of Defence Staff General Anil Chauhan. The indigenously built helicopter has been given the name ‘Prachanda', which loosely translates as fierce in Hindi. The