India Issues Letter of Request to US for 24 Naval MH-60 Helicopters

The Indian government has issued a letter of request to the United States for the procurement of 24 naval multi-role MH-60 helicopters armed with torpedoes and missiles for an approximate $1.8 billion.

The Indo-US government-to-government deal under the US Foreign Military Sales program is likely to be signed within this year, informed sources told defenseworld.net Thursday.

The Indian Defense Acquisition Council had cleared purchase of 24 MH-60R helicopters to replace the Sea King fleet in August this year just before the inaugural “two-plus-two” dialogue between India and the US on September 6.

The DAC had also approved over INR 21,000 crore (US $3 billion) procurement of 111 armed naval utility helicopters under the “strategic partnership (SP)” policy.

The MH-60R choppers are likely to be delivered to India from 2020-2024.