India gets US approval to purchase MH-60R Seahawk naval helicopters

A pair of MH-60R Seahawk helicopters operated by the US Navy. Photo c/o Lockheed Martin.

India has received the approval from the US government on 2 April 2019 to purchase 24 new Sikorsky MH-60R "Romeo" Seahawk naval helicopters for the Indian Navy (IN), which is expected to cost around US$2.6 billion. This is after India submitted a Letter of Request on November 2018.

In addition, India also got the approval for the US to release a refurbished SH-60B helicopter as excess defense article (EDA) from the US Navy, which would likely be used for training.

Also included in the approval are anti-submarine warfare-related equipment and weapons, anti-surface warfare weapons, air-to-ground munitions, spares, training, and logistics support package.

Munitions included are the Raytheon Mk. 54 torpedoes, Lockheed Martin AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, BAE Systems Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) guided rockets, and M240D and GAU-21 guns.

While actual missiles are not included, the package includes the Kongsberg Naval Strike Missile emulators and captive inert training missiles.

The new MH-60R Seahawk helicopters will become the Indian Navy's standard shipborne naval combat helicopter, as it will replace its ageing fleet of twelve (12) Westland Sea King Mk 42B/C and ten (10) Kamov Ka-28 helicopters starting 2020, with delivery expected to be completed by 2024.



[1] Military and Aerospace Electronics
[2] Jane's Defence Weekly
[3] Times of India