IT Correspondent
Mumbai, July 17:
Indian Navy accepted the first two of its MH-60R Multi Role Helicopters (MRH) from US Navy in a ceremony held at Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego on July 16, Friday.
The ceremony marked the formal transfer of these helicopters from US Navy to Indian Navy, which were accepted by Indian Ambassador to USA.His Excellency Taranjit Singh Sandhu. The ceremony also witnessed exchange of helicopter documents between Vice Admiral Kenneth Whitesell, Commander Naval Air Forces, US Navy and Vice Admiral Ravneet Singh, Deputy Chief of Naval Staff (DCNS), Indian Navy, an official statement said.
MH-60R helicopter manufactured by Lockheed Martin Corporation, USA is an all-weather helicopter designed to support multiple missions with state of the art avionics/ sensors. 24 of these helicopters are being procured under Foreign Military Sales from the US Government. The helicopters would also be modified with several India Unique Equipment and weapons.
The induction of these MRH would further enhance Indian Navy’s three dimensional capabilities. In order to exploit these potent helicopters, the first batch of Indian crew is presently undergoing training in USA.
In a government-to-government deal with the United States (US), India will procure 24 of these maritime helicopters for around $1.8 billion. The process for acquiring 24 anti-submarine warfare helicopters from the US Company Lockheed Martin began much earlier. The cost of the weapons and other systems, will be additional.
The government has also given the go-ahead for acquiring 111 Naval utility helicopters, valued at Rs 21,000 crore. This is a significant development for the Navy and government for several reasons.