Indian Air Force is going to buy 156 more Prachanda Light Combat Helicopters from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). These will be deployed by the Indian Air Force and the Indian Army on both the China and Pakistan fronts.

These helicopters were tested in the world's worst weather conditions and terrains. After testing, the Indian Air Force and the Indian Army have already included 15 of these helicopters in their fleet in the last 15 months. Senior defense officials said that a proposal has been submitted to the government to purchase 156 more Prachanda helicopters, which is likely to be approved soon.

Recently, Indian Air Force Chief Air Marshal VR Chaudhari had announced the purchase of about 100 more Light Combat Aircraft Mark 1A to promote indigenization. The total value of both the projects is more than Rs 1.5 lakh crore.

Of the 156 helicopters, 66 will be inducted by the Indian Air Force while the remaining 90 will be acquired by the Indian Army.

This combat helicopter has been designed as per the needs of the Indian Armed Forces to operate in both desert terrain and high altitude areas.

Prachanda is the only combat helicopter in the world that can take off and land at an altitude of 5000 meters (16400 feet). This quality of Prachanda makes it ideal to operate in the Siachen Glacier and high-altitude areas of Eastern Ladakh.

Along with this, it is also capable of firing air-to-ground and air-to-air missiles and can destroy enemy air defense operations.