New Delhi: The Indian Army will soon get a substantial boost in aerial firepower with the induction of the attack version of indigenously-built Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) 'Rudra'. A derivative of the ALH Dhruv, the Rudra will be the first weaponised chopper built in the country.

It will be inducted into the Army Aviation Corps sometime in the current financial year, officials said.

The "heavily-loaded" ALH Rudra will be armed with an array of guns, rocket pods, air-to-air and anti-tank guided missiles.

The Rudra will begin a fresh final round of firing trials this month, starting with its 20-mm turret gun. This will be followed by trials of its 70mm rockets and MBDA-supplied Mistral air-to-air missiles in November.

Aiming for initial operational clearance (IOC) by December this year, deliveries of the production series of helicopters are scheduled for before March 2012.

The weapon systems are currently being ground-tested in integrated configuration (IADS).

Integration of the Rudra aerial platform into the army will provide field commanders the ability to apply combat power at critical times anywhere in the battle field, officials said.

Rudra is an armed variant of the ALH Dhruva chopper and "necessary changes have been made in the airframe of the chopper to give it agility and speed to make it a suitable support weapon for the ground troops".

The chopper has been named 'Rudra', one of the names of Lord Shiva who is worshipped as the destroyer of enemies, to signify the helicopter's firepower and capabilities.

The HAL is also in the process of developing a Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) which will be inducted in both the army and the Indian Air Force.

The 5.5 tonne class twin engine chopper has a number of advanced features such as Automatic Flight Control System, Integrated Dynamic System, Full Authority Digital Electronic Control can cruise at speeds of 250 km per hour.