New Delhi: One of the most powerful navies in the World – the Indian Navy on Saturday inducted its first two MH-60R multi-role helicopters from the United States during a ceremony at the Naval Air Station in North Island.
India’s Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu attended a ceremony held at the Naval Air Station North Island or NAS North Island, San Diego on Friday.
The US Navy on its official Twitter account – tweeted that “The Indian Navy will receive a total of 24 MH-60Rs in the contract with the US Navy which will enhance our Navy-to-Navy cooperation and strengthen our combined subsurface and surface warfare capability and capacity in the Indo-Pacific region.”
The Government of Indian has decided to purchase 24 MH-60R helicopters from Lockheed Martin at an estimated cost of USD 2.4 billion.
The ceremony also witnessed an exchange of documents between Vice Adm Kenneth Whitesell, Commander Naval Air Forces, US Navy, and Vice Adm Ravneet Singh, DCNS.
The induction of these MRH would enhance the Indian Navy’s three-dimensional capabilities. The helicopters would also be modified with several unique equipment and weapons. The first batch of the Indian crew is presently undergoing training in the US.
According to the Department of Defense, the proposed sale will provide India the capability to perform anti-surface and anti-submarine warfare missions along with the ability to perform secondary missions including vertical replenishment, search and rescue, and communications relay.
The Department of Defense said that “India will use the enhanced capability as a deterrent to regional threats and to strengthen its homeland defense. India will have no difficulty absorbing these helicopters into its armed forces,”
The Indian cabinet had cleared the purchase of the helicopters in February 2020, weeks before the historic visit of the then US President Donald Trump.