India’s Light Combat Helicopters To Get Stinger Air-to-air Missiles

India’s Light Combat Helicopters (LCH) will be equipped with Stinger air-to-air missiles.

The Stringer missiles are part of the $3.1 billion agreement India signed with US last month. The deal includes combat helicopters, weapons, radars and electronic warfare suites apart from 245 Stringer missiles along with launchers and engineering support.

“India joins nations around the globe who recognise that air-to-air Stinger can be a key component of attack and light attack helicopter mission configurations,” Duane Gooden, Vice-President, Raytheon Land Warfare Systems was quoted as saying by Hindu Thursday.

“Stinger significantly improves the ability of the aircraft to successfully perform today’s missions while countering existing threats,” he noted in a statement.

The combination of speed, agility, and lethal warhead gives Stinger the operational edge against all classes of helicopters, UAVs, cruise missiles, and fixed-wing aircraft.

Last September, India and the US signed contracts for the procurement of 22 Apache helicopters and 15 Chinook helicopters. The new fleet could be equipped with the Stinger missile.