SAN DIEGO: After a long wait of more than a decade, the Indian Navy has received the first two of its MH-60R Multi Role Helicopters (MRH) from the United States Navy.
These 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 His Excellency 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.
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. (ANI)
