Indian Navy team in US to train on MH-60R helicopters; Navy to get new flight power soon

24 multi-role MH-60 R helicopters will soon enhance the flight fleet of Indian Navy. A team of 18 Indian Navy personnel is in the US for training on the MH-60R multi-role helicopters. The $2.2 bn deal for 24 MH-60 R was signed during the visit of then US President Donald Trump February 2020.

“ After the initial training three helicopters are scheduled to be delivered to the Indian Navy in July which will be used for special training in the US. The first batch of MH-60  helicopters will arrive in India by June 2022,” an official source said. Training of the first batch of aircrew and technical crew, will commence at Pensacola, Florida and San Diego.

The helicopters being procured under the ‘Buy (Global)’ category of the procurement procedure through the Foreign Military Sales route of the US are built by Lockheed Martin. All 24 helicopters will be delivered to Indian Navy in next three years.

“MH-60R international partnerships continue – Indian Navy students arrived at Naval Air Station (NAS) Pensacola and North Island to commence training with two MH-60R helicopters while strengthening global partnerships,” the U.S. Naval Air Systems Command said on twitter.

The Navy is on a mission to enhance its air power over the seas with a whole new fleet of specialized helicopters. The frontline warships will be strenghthened with these multi-role helicopters. A tender for 111 Naval Utility Helicopters (NUH) is currently being processed through the Strategic Partnership route of procurement procedure while there is a projected requirement of 123 multi-role helicopters. To speed up the procurement procedure,  the Navy issued a Request for Information (RFI) for lease of 24 light helicopters in April.

The MH-60R helicopters would be best suited to fill the gap for the Sea King 42/42 A helicopters that were decommissioned in 1990s. These new helicopters will give sharper teeth to Indian Navy in offensive and defensive roles including anti-submarine warfare, anti-ship strike, specialized maritime operations, search and rescue operations.