As this development ushers the rationale of grabbing opportunities for the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to secure the tools it needs, the same might go for Indian defense and industrial firms like Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, whereby it might likely getting more aggressive with its marketing pitch of offering its helicopters of different variants, functions, and uses, for the Philippine military to use, especially the Philippine Air Force.
THE MARKETING PITCH
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| India won't stop at just exporting the BrahMos missiles to the Philippine military alone. Image Source. |
India’s defense export prospects now come with promising progress, especially since it achieved its first export of a military hardware to a foreign nation. Here, India made its first successful export of a military hardware with the Philippines, as they successfully deliver the first units for the BrahMos missile system battery intended for the Shore-based Anti-Ship Missile System Acquisition Project of the Philippine Marine Corps, in line with the Department of National Defense’s push for territorial defense.
The successful export of the first batch of units of a BrahMos missile battery to the Philippines, along with others getting on its way to the country, is just one of India’s desire and ultimate purpose as an emerging arms exporter of its indigenously developed and built military hardware, with a multiple variety of options now presented by India for countries like the Philippines to consider. Some of those platforms have already got a discussion on this website, such as the one for the HAL Dhruv Helicopters.
Speaking of helicopters, India is also marketing another type of this platform that the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Department of National Defense might consider, especially for its close air support operations.
This refers to the HAL Prachand Attack Helicopter, whereby the Indian aerospace company Hindustan Aeronautics Limited aims at promoting in the Philippine defense market, a platform marketed alongside the HAL Tejas Mk 2, it's indigenously developed and built fighter aircraft.
Apparently, the marketing made by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for the Prachand Attack Helicopter intended for the Armed Forces of the Philippines use comes with an advanced discussion where, if pushes through, will enable the country to be the first export customer of the attack helicopter and second to India in terms of active users. This is precisely what happened with the BrahMos missile system exported to the Philippines, which itself is also the first export customer of the product.
Aside from the Philippines, the Indian-made attack helicopter also receives interest from other countries, namely Argentina, Egypt, and Nigeria. This shows the push made by the Indian defense establishment in exporting its military hardware to other countries, attempting to cement its foothold in the global military and defense market that is primarily composed of countries such as the United States, Russia, China, Germany, Italy, Spain, and others.
As such, the more active users of this attack helicopter developed and produced by India in the global market will not only help cement the said foothold as mentioned but also cement the reputation of Indian defense companies, provided that the platforms presented is a reliable, cost-effective solution that the countries’ militaries have sought after on these military platforms for their respective mission requirements. Hence, this renders their marketing of the platform as an interesting development of its own.
Under this topic, the discussion delves deeper into the usual quirks and highlights on its development and operational use within the Indian Armed Forces, whilst presenting the attack helicopter’s specifications and weapons load-out, as comparable to contemporary dedicated attack helicopters currently serving the Philippine Air Force.
At the end of discussion, primary key points will highlight the helicopter’s performance and other metrics, going alongside the Philippine Armed Forces’ operational requirements.
DESIGN DEVELOPMENT
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| The HAL Prachand stand as India's future attack helicopter platform. Image Source. |
India’s own aerospace industry always has local development and production in mind, whereby it has the essence that the country has the capacity and sufficiency to not fully rely on other suppliers of aerospace hardware, such as Russia.
In the context, India has always bought its military hardware from Russia, whereby it comprises the former and the latter’s large percentage of military exports before the Russo-Ukrainian conflict took place in 2022.
Since the conflict started, India’s reliance to Russia has gotten a highlight, whereby it only makes sense from this point on for the country to not only diversifying its source of military hardware like in Indian Air Force’s case of buying Rafale fighter aircraft from France, but also in developing it's indigenously made and produced military hardware like the BrahMos cruise missiles and Prachand Attack Helicopters. Going further, they also aim to expand their export of this platform to other countries, like the Philippines.
As the Prachand comes as India’s first and current indigenously made attack helicopter that has the Indian military’s own requirements in mind, its design development started in 2006, whereby the Indian government approved its first research and development fund that costs around Rs3.76bn, or $44.97m. Its development comes as both the Indian Air Force and Indian Army set up orders for the purchase of the helicopter, coming at around 64 and 114 units, respectively.
The first prototype of the Prachand Attack Helicopter first got unveiled in the 2007 Aero India Air Show, which since then expanded to at least three (3) prototypes produced, with the second one unveiled in the 2011 Aero India Air Show. Since then, the prototypes of the Prachand Attack Helicopters took part in extensive test trials, of which it involved a wide variety of procedures that test the helicopter’s performance. The attack helicopter design’s first reported complete test flight took place in March 2010.
After the first test flight of the Prachand Attack Helicopter, it took the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and the Indian military more than half a decade until the mass production intended for both the Indian Air Force and Indian Military got a clear signal in August 2017.
This rendered the first use of India’s very own developed and produced attack helicopter for its own armed forces, and its eventual aspirations for this platform of getting exported overseas.
The clear signal, also known as the ‘Operational Clearance’ for the Prachand Attack Helicopter, comes after the certificate of basic configuration gets issued on the helicopter design provided by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited in October 2015.
Going further, the same aerospace company gave a declaration on its operational induction in January 2019, a sign that the weapons integration tests have satisfactorily completed, adhering to the standards set by HAL and by the Indian military’s end-user requirements.
From development to the operational induction that took place after intensive testing on its weapons integration test, the development history of the HAL Prachand Attack Helicopter spans more than a decade, with India now aims to market this platform into prospective export countries like the Philippines as it competes with other weapons suppliers like the United States, France, and Russia for a portion of its weapons export market pie, particularly the ones pertaining to attack helicopters.
SPECIFICATIONS
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| Here are the detailed specifications for the HAL Prachand Attack Helicopter, proudly made in India. Image Source. |
In defining the capabilities that a helicopter design platform has to showcase that might contain useful attributes for its end user, discussion for its specifications and technical details comes just as important as the subject exchanges and technical skills training that both the pilots and maintenance officers receive.
Hence, understanding the capabilities of the Prachand Attack Helicopter provides an in-depth perspective on how India’s Hindustan Aeronautics Limited promotes its product to countries like the Philippines.
From the image referenced above, the Prachand Attack Helicopter has multiple weapon suites installed onboard, defining its firepower capability against both ground and air targets in the battlefield setting.
As usual, it comes with rocket pods, missile launch rails for a specific missile munition, and a front gun system designed to eliminate infantry and light armored targets in a close air support operation as this is the primary feature typically found on dedicated attack helicopter platforms.
Now delving deep to the performance features of the attack helicopter, the HAL Prachand has the power and performance of 280 kilometers per hour (kph) maximum speed, 180 kilometers per hour (kph) cruising speed, 21,325 feet service ceiling, 700 kilometers operational range, and 2,362 feet per minute or 720 meters per minute rate of climb. These are all thanks to the 2x HAL (Turbomeca) Shakti turboshaft engines that can generate 1,430 horsepower each, driving the helicopter’s main and tail rotors.
Aside from the performance features found on the HAL Prachand, another feature that needs a deep look is the fuselage’s dimensions and capacity, as it is equally important as the propulsion system that powers the attack helicopter into desirable end-user performance requirements. This helicopter can operate by two (2) manned crew, with a 15.80 meter overall length of the helicopter from nose to tail, while having an overall width of 13.30 meters (including the rotor) and 4.70 meter overall height.
As for the attack helicopter’s weight, it has an empty weight of 18,739lbs or 8,500 kilograms, while having a maximum takeoff weight or MTOW of around 28,186lbs or 12,785 kilograms.
The helicopter’s weight plays an important element that influences the performance that its engine produces, while factoring in the fuselage’s capacity in carrying not only the two pilots that operate the helicopter but also the guided and unguided munitions that have fitted onboard.
Going to the helicopter’s specific munitions, the HAL Prachand Attack Helicopter has its own specific munitions, ranging from rockets to guided missiles and gun calibers, of which it comes accordingly to compatibility and also the commonality with the rest of the Indian Armed Forces as its initial client. It comes fully armed with 70mm rocket pods, Mistral air-to-air missiles, a 20mm mounted gun, and the capacity of carrying anti-tank missiles such as the DRDO-developed Helicopter NAG (HELINA) or PARS-3.
As the details on its specifications, weapons load-out, and performance have presented accordingly regarding the capabilities that the HAL LCH Prachand Attack Helicopter has in offering to the Philippine military’s own requirements, the following sub-topic will delve into its comparative description of its capabilities as opposed to the contemporary platforms serving the Philippine Air Force, particularly that the service branch currently operate a different type of attack helicopter such as the T-129 ‘Atak’ from Turkiye.
IN COMPARISON
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| The Philippine Air Force maintains at least six (6) T-129 Atak Helicopters in its inventory, bought from Turkiye. Image Source. |
With the specifications of the HAL Prachand Attack Helicopter unveiled, understanding its capability further through its comparison to the contemporaries in the Philippine Air Force gives a broad perspective on how Hindustan Aeronautics Limited markets this helicopter to the Philippine Armed Forces, as the likes of the Turkish-made T-129 ‘Atak’ Attack Helicopter has already cemented its reputation and foothold in the Philippine attack helicopter market alongside the donated AH-1s Cobra Helicopters from Jordan.
In terms of helicopter dimensions, the T-129 Atak Helicopter of Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) comes slightly shorter than the HAL Prachand Attack Helicopter of around 14.54 meters, as compared to the Indian-made helicopter’s 15.80 meter overall length.
Meanwhile, the same goes with the Turkish-made helicopter’s overall height, as it goes smaller at 3.40 meters, as compared to the 4.70 meter overall height of the HAL Prachand with a difference of 1.30 meters.
As for the weight, the Maximum Takeoff Weight or MTOW of the T-129 Atak Helicopter that the Philippine Air Force currently operates is at 5,065 kilograms or 11,166lbs, lighter than the HAL Prachand Attack Helicopter’s 12,785 kilograms or 28,186lbs.
This comes indicative of the slight size differences between the both helicopters, along with armaments whereby both have the same caliber (20mm) turreted gun, have air-to-air capabilities, and can carry rocket and anti-tank munitions.
For context, the armaments of the T-129 ‘Atak’ Attack Helicopter of Turkish Aerospace Industries for the Philippine Air Force compose of the following - 20mm turreted gun with a capacity of 500 rounds, 70mm rockets with the capacity of 76 rocket rounds, 16x CIRIT 70mm Laser Guided Air-to-Ground Missiles, 8x UMTAS Long-Range Anti-Tank Missiles, and 8x Stinger Air-to-Air Missiles. This comes fully different from the array of munitions that have come with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited’s AH offer to the Philippine Air Force.
Another factor worth looking at is the performance of both attack helicopters, as it plays a significant role for combat platforms to have an exemplary performance that an end-user like the Philippine Air Force sees in conducting and carrying crucial, if not critical, types of situations.
The maximum cruise speed of the ‘Atak’ Attack Helicopter produced by Turkish Aerospace Industries is at 281 kph or 152 knots, a rate of climb of 13.26 meters or 2,610 feet per second, and a service ceiling of 15,000 feet or 4.221 kilometers.
This means that there is an almost similar performance for both the Turkish-made attack helicopter and its Indian-made counterpart in terms of maximum cruise speed, although the latter has a better service ceiling, given that the HAL Prachand’s design comes with high altitude, mountain-related operations in mind.
Being small and lighter comes at the Turkish ‘Atak’ attack helicopter’s advantage, whereby it has a greater rate of climb as compared to the HAL Prachand LCH Attack Helicopter on offer.
Finally, the helicopter’s range also come as an important metric to consider aside from the aforementioned performance numbers, as T-129 ‘Atak’ Attack Helicopter’s range is at 537 kilometers or 290 nautical miles, 163 kilometers or 88 nautical miles less than what has advertised for the Prachand Attack Helicopter offered by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited to the Philippines. Ultimately, the Turkish-made attack helicopter has an advantage over the Indian-made one, as the former already actively serves in the Philippine Air Force.
TO CONCLUDE
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| The HAL Tejas fighter aircraft, indigenously developed by India, is also getting offered to the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Image Source. |
In clarifying things up, the Indian aerospace company Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) is actively marketing a wide variety of its product line to both the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine Coast Guard, as this comes exhibited widely on the offers made on the latter for both the HAL Dhruv Mk-3 Helicopter and the Dornier Do-228 fixed-wing aircraft. This is to dispel any attempts at misinformation, such as the ones saying that the Armed Forces of the Philippines are already securing such platforms.
The HAL Prachand Attack Helicopter only comes as one of the recent offer made by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited to the Philippine Armed Forces, in an attempt of improving its capabilities while expanding its defense exports and penetrating the military and defense markets of other countries, including the ones in the Philippines. While this is a welcoming offer from the Indian aerospace company, the decision primarily lies with the leadership within the Philippine military.
Currently, the Philippine Air Force has at least six (6) T-129 ‘Atak’ Attack Helicopters that the service branch purchased from the Turkish Aerospace Industries or TAI, plus at least two (2) ex-Jordanian AH-1S Huey Cobra Attack Helicopters, totaling at least eight (8) purpose-built attack helicopters currently in service.
This means that the HAL Prachand Attack Helicopter comes at a disadvantage from a logistical standpoint as it comes preferable for the Philippine Air Force to buy additional similarly built platforms.
Aside from the HAL Prachand Attack Helicopter, the Indian aerospace firm does not stop from just offering it, but also raising up the idea of offering the Tejas fighter aircraft that is also actively offering to the Philippine Armed Forces, although this premise is also farfetched given the heavy preference of the likes of the Philippine Air Force to the more capable and already-reputable platforms like the F-16 Block 70/72 Viper and JAS-39 Gripen E/F Multirole Fighter Jet variants.
These push of Indian-made military hardware comes as expected given the phenomenal success that the first deal between both countries have in securing and delivering the BrahMos coastal missile batteries for the Philippine Marine Corps, in which this count as the first export made for such a highly capable anti-ship missile platform to a foreign country, joining the Indian Armed Forces on the number of active users of this highly regarded missile platform.
India’s push for military hardware exports to countries like the Philippines come as timely with the latter actively pushes the Re-Horizon 3 phase of the Revised AFP Modernization Program, with the focus being more on securing defense materiel fully oriented for territorial defense and in line with the Department of National Defense and its Comprehensive Archipelagic Defense Concept or CADC. Priorities focus more on coastal systems, fighter aircraft, and surface warships over platforms like attack helicopters.
To conclude, this offer made by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited to the Philippine Armed Forces for the Prachand Attack Helicopter comes similarly to their other offers made, in which they have the aim of capturing a significant portion of the country’s national defense market that is currently dominating by products made from Turkiye, South Korea, Israel, and the United States. Perhaps it might be nice to see the extent of the success this effort has had in the Philippine military’s capacity building push.
(c) 2024 PDA.
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