Kargil war put need for LCHs in focus

New Delhi: India’s first indigenous light combat helicopter LCH was inducted into the IAF on Monday. “The induction of LCH underlines the fact that just as the country trusts IAF, the force equally trusts indigenous equipment,” the minister said, citing the examples of the home-grown Tejas fighters, Akash surface-to-air missile systems and Dhruv advanced light helicopters.

The need for LCHs for mountain warfare was acutely felt during the Kargil war. Two LCHs were even evaluated in eastern Ladakh in 2020 amid the China faceoff, as was reported by TOI.