Aero India 2023: Indian Army Chief General Manoj Pande Flies in Light Combat Helicopter in Bengaluru

Bengaluru, February 13: Army Chief General Manoj Pande on Monday flew in the Light Combat Helicopter at Aero India at Bengaluru in Karnataka and discussed how Indian forces would be ready to fight future wars with made-in-India weapon systems in the next 8-10 years.

Speaking to ANI here, General Pande said that he reviewed the Light Combat Helicopter and he is quite impressed with its features as it has all the qualities which are required by the Indian Army. Aero India 2023 Live Streaming: Watch PM Narendra Modi Inaugurating Asia's Biggest Air Show in Bengaluru Today.

General Pande said, "It was a very satisfying and meaningful experience. I was quite impressed with the kind of features that the Light Combat Helicopter has, especially in terms of manoeuvrability and capabilities that we in the Army are requiring from a combat helicopter." Aero India 2023: Surya Kiran Aircraft Draw an Arrow Through the Heart in Sky, PM Narendra Modi Applauds (Watch Video).

"If I were to start with Infantry, we are initially looking at making an Infantry soldier or empowering him to carry out his task on a battlefield in terms of protection, increasing situational awareness, giving him better surveillance capability, ability to fight at night," General Pande added.

He further said, "If you look at the armour of the tanks, we are looking at a future-ready tank which we want to be night-enabled - there also we are looking at better protection and better situational awareness. In the case of artillery, we're looking at a range of capability starting from a mounted gun, improving the precision, improving to engage targets at very long ranges as also looking at our capability to strategically lift our artillery from one sector to another."

He further said that as soon as we will move forward with these kinds of mobility we will be able to meet the security challenges strongly in the next 8-10 years.

The Defence Ministry's firm Hindustan Aeronautics Limited is all set to display 15 made-in-India helicopters, including an advanced light helicopter, which has been delivered to Mauritius ahead of schedule. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the 14th edition of Asia's largest aero show -- Aero India 2023 -- in Bengaluru on Monday.

"The event will showcase multiple variants of indigenous air platforms like Light Combat Aircraft (LCA)-Tejas, HTT-40, Dornier Light Utility Helicopter (LUH), Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) and Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH)," the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) said in a statement.

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