HAL LUH vs HAL Cheetah at Siachen
Question: HAL Cheetah is well know for its high altitude operations at Siachen glacier, can HAL LUH match it’s capabilities?
Answer: Over the course of trials, the LUH’s capability to land with a payload of 309lb at the highest possible Indian helipad – located at an altitude in excess of 19,000ft – was demonstrated.
This was achieved with only 95% of power usage, meaning it has capability to carry even more load or operate from even higher helipad if need arises.
While operating at another helipad, at a slightly lower altitude, a payload capability of 375lb was demonstrated. These payloads are well in excess of the user requirement to carry 165lb at an altitude of 19,685ft.
In comparison, the Cheetah helicopter – a variant of Aérospatiale’s SA 315B Lama, built under licence by HAL – can carry only 55lb at similar altitudes. As well as being able to carry more weight, the LUH is capable of travelling at twice the speed of the Cheetah helicopters.
LUH is under limited series production after getting it’s IOC. A total of 12 are under production.
