Indian Navy is going to be even more powerful now. Navy will get the world's best MH-60R Seahawk helicopters from America this year. India will get 2 of the 24 helicopters in July, while one will be available at the end of the year. These helicopters have the capability to locate and kill marine ships and submarines.
According to officials, about 15 Navy officers are currently taking training to operate helicopters. This training has started on Monday in the US city of Pensacola, Florida.
Romeo Seahawk helicopters are manufactured by Lockheed Martin Company. The Indian government had signed an agreement with the US government to buy helicopters only last year. The cost of 24 helicopters is around Rs 17,500 crore. According to the agreement, America has to deliver all the helicopters to India by 2024.
The Government of India is procuring helicopters for the Navy for the first time in the last 15 years. It will replace the British Sea King helicopters in the Indian Navy. Sea King retired from service two decades ago.
Retired Rear Admiral Sudarshan Shrikhande, an expert in maritime affairs, said that since 1960, helicopters with various special capabilities have become a necessity for any Navy. I remember in the late 1980s helicopters like the Sea King 42 and the Kamov variant were inducted into the fleet. Now with the arrival of MH-60R, new power will be given.
The Seahawk helicopter is equipped with AGM-114 Hellfire missile, MK 54 torpedoes, and advanced technology weapons. This double engined helicopter can also be operated from warships, cruisers, and aircraft carriers. The MH-60R Seahawk helicopter, popularly known as Romeo, is effective in surveillance, information, target search and rescue, gunfire, and logistic support, apart from anti-submarine.
Apart from destroying enemy submarines, these helicopters will prove to be effective in expelling ships and in search operations at sea. With the help of these helicopters, India's security will be strengthened at the domestic level and it will help in dealing with regional enemies. According to the US, India will have no problem in inducting these helicopters into the Navy. Currently, it is deployed in the US Navy as an anti-submarine and anti-surface weapon.
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