BENGALURU: Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) today said the cold weather trials of Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) were carried out at Air Force Station, Leh, recently.

The engine starts were satisfactory in the temperature of minus 18 degree C at 4.1 km. The flights were also carried out to assess high altitude performance and low speed handling, HAL said in a release here.

It said the LCH prototype TD2 was ferried from Bengaluru to Leh and the flight trials were carried out involving customer pilots from Air Force and Army and with the participation of representatives from Regional Centre for Military Airworthiness and Director General of Aeronautical Quality Assurance.

"The trials covered engine starts with internal batteries after overnight cold soak at 3 km altitude and 4.1 km altitude," HAL Chairman T Suvarna Raju said.

He said LCH Technology Demonstrator TD-3 made its maiden flight in November last year and the TD-4 is likely to fly soon. "The IOCBSE 0.97 % is expected in the later part of this year and to achieve this we are concentrating on building more prototypes and increase the number of flights to reduce the lead-time for IOC."

HAL said LCH is of 5.5 ton class, powered by two Shakti engines and inherits many technical features of the Advanced Light Helicopter. The features that are unique to LCH are sleek and narrow fuselage, tri-cycle crashworthy landing gear, crashworthy and self-sealing fuel tanks, armour protection, nuclear, and low visibility features which make the LCH lethal, agile and survivable.