India To Buy 24 MH-60R  Romeo Seahawk Helicopters From the USA For Indian Navy

Recently India has inked a deal of 24 Sikorsky MH-60R Romeo Seahawk Helicopters from the USA for the Indian navy, the USA has also approved this deal.

In this blog, we will study some facts about this deal and how  MH-60R Seahawk helicopters will benefit India in brief.

So let's start,

What is MH-60R Romeo Seahawk Helicopter?

• It is a twin turboshaft, Multi-mission helicopter which belongs to Sikorsky S-70 family.
• MH-60R is designed for targeting ships, hunting submarines and conducting search and rescue operations at sea.
• Also used by the US Navy, It is considered as the most advanced maritime helicopter in the world.
• Its top speed is 270 km/h.
• It can carry three Mark 46 torpedoes and AGM-114 Hellfire missiles.
• It has APKWS i.e Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System with an M240 machine gun.

Why India needs MH-60R?

• These helicopters will replace the ageing fleet of British made SeaKing helicopters
• It will provide India with the capability to perform anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare missions.
• It would add lethal capabilities of the Indian Navy to counter rising Chinese aggression in the Indian ocean.
• They will sanitize littoral spaces where the Indian Navy's warships are likely to be deployed.

The US has approved the sale of 24 multi-role MH-60 Romeo Seahawk maritime helicopters to India at an estimated cost of USD 2.6 billion. Boosting Indian Navy's warfare capabilities as China is expanding its presence in the Indian Ocean.

In terms of both quantity and technological advancement, China's Submarine fleet is outperforming India's. China has a total of 78 submarines which includes 14 nuclear-powered submarines and 57 conventional submarines.

Besides this China has 6 advanced JIN Class SSBNs armed with the missiles with a range of 7200km. So in this case acquiring 24 multi-role, MH-60R Romeo Seahawk maritime helicopters is a very smart move from India.

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