Cochin [Kerela], July 28 (ANI): The Indian Navy on Thursday received two MH-60 R multirole helicopters from the United States at Cochin International Airport. The third helicopter is scheduled to be delivered in August this year, while the delivery of all 24 MH 60R helicopters will be completed by 2025.

Back in 2019, the United States had approved the sale of 24 MH-60R multi-mission helicopters to India under its Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. The approval was made in order to improve the security of a major defensive partner in the Indo-Pacific region.

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"The United States Department of State has approved the sale of 24 MH-60R multi-mission helicopters to India under its Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. The value of the potential is USD 2.6 billion," read the statement released by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), the body that administers Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programme.

"The proposed sale will provide India with 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. India will use the enhanced capability as a deterrent to regional threats and to strengthen its homeland defence," the statement had added.

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The MH-60R is the most advanced marine multi-mission helicopter currently in use. The induction of state-of-the-art mission-capable platforms will significantly boost the integral Anti-submarine warfare capability of the Indian Navy. (ANI)

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