August 30, 2014: The scrapping of the 197 reconnaissance and surveillance helicopter (RSH) programme has placed fresh onus on HAL's Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) project that targets a first flight by next year. HAL's LUH is in a tense race against time to service a requirement of 187 helicopters. With the scrapping of the RSH programme, HAL has the opportunity to make up for lost time and ensure no further slippages in acquiring systems and getting the chopper off the ground on time next year. MoD stipulations on the project were that for every waypoint that HAL missed on its development flightpath, the parallel RSH procurement programme would gain with corresponding follow-on orders, thereby chipping away at HAL's total order numbers. Top sources at HAL tell SP's that the company's helicopter division has decided to push full throttle on the LUH programme now, sniffing the opportunity of some valuable breathing space. A desperate Indian Army and IAF could also be persuaded to show more support for the LUH with the collapse of the RSH acquisition for now.