After a long wait of more than a decade, the Indian Navy received the first two of its MH-60R Multi Role Helicopters (MRH) from the United States Navy.
The helicopters were handed over in a ceremony which was held at US Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego on Friday.
“The ceremony marked the formal transfer of these helicopters from US Navy to Indian Navy, which were accepted by Taranjit Singh Sandhu, Indian Ambassador to the USA. The ceremony also witnessed the 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,” said an Indian Navy spokesperson in a statement.
#First two MH-60R helos
accepted by @indiannavy from the @USNavy on 16 Jul 21 at Naval Air Station North Island, San Diego.@SandhuTaranjitS, Ambassador @IndianEmbassyUS, VAdm Ravneet Singh, Deputy Chief of Naval Staff & VAdm Kenneth Whitesell, Cdr @flynavy were present. pic.twitter.com/yPCFRcg1uj— SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) July 17, 2021
MH-60R helicopter 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 the Indian Navy’s three-dimensional capabilities. In order to exploit these potent helicopters, the first batch of Indian crew is presently undergoing training in the USA.
India is procuring 24 of these helicopters from the US government under foreign military sales. The choppers would be modified with many “India-unique” equipment and weapons, military officials with the matter told news agency ANI.
The helicopters were formally handed over by the US Navy to the Indian Navy in a ceremony held at the United States naval air station in San Diego’s North Island. The choppers were accepted from the Indian side by Taranjit Singh Sandhu, Indian ambassador to the USA.
Deepening ???????????????? Defence ties !
Attended the handing over ceremony of the first @LockheedMartin #MH60R Multi Role Helicopters from @USNavy to @indiannavy, along with Vice Adm. Kenneth Whitesell, Commander US Naval Air Forces and DCNS Vice Adm Ravneet Singh at #SanDiego today. pic.twitter.com/DGUK1FfQwE
— Taranjit Singh Sandhu (@SandhuTaranjitS) July 16, 2021
Helicopter documents were also exchanged between officials of the United States Navy and the Indian Navy.
MH-60R helicopter is an all-weather helicopter designed to support multiple missions with state-of-the-art avionics and sensors. In order to exploit these potent helicopters, the first batch of Indian crew is presently undergoing training in the USA. The induction of these MRH is expected to further enhance the Indian Navy’s three-dimensional capabilities.