India's locally manufactured tank-killer, Light Combat Helicopter Prachand, carried out military operations in High-Altitude Areas at an elevation of approximately 10,000 feet in the Himalayas, the Indian Air Force (IAF) said on Thursday.
"Having revalidated the firing of its 20 mm caliber gun and 70 mm rockets in March this year, IAF Light Combat Helicopters Prachand recently carried out operations from a helipad located at an elevation of nearly 10, 000 ft in forward areas," the statement by the IAF read.
As per Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Prachand is the only military chopper in the world that can land at altitudes above 5,000 meters (16,400 ft), Prachand has given a major boost to the Indian Army's capabilities to swiftly move troops and ammunition to forward areas, including the Siachen glacier and peaks of Himalayas in the Ladakh sector.
As per military pundits, Siachen is the highest battlefield on the planet, where the Indian Army has a base camp and troops are deployed around the year in extreme weather conditions.
Against this backdrop, LCH Prachand has become a boon to the Indian Army because it can now send soldiers to the glacier during emergencies at short notice.
Equipped with an array of air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles, Prachand can destroy the enemy's tank formations and penetrate the adversary's air defense systems from the sky.