Indian Navy to Induct its First Squadron of MH-60R Seahawk Helicopters

The Indian Navy, which acquired 24 MH-60R Seahawk advanced multi-role helicopters from Sikorsky (a Lockheed Martin company) earlier, is all set to induct its first squadron into operational deployment on March 06, 2024. The induction of the new Seahawk Romeo helicopters is likely to provide a significant boost to Indian Navy's force projection and surface & anti-submarine warfare capabilities as a truly blue water Navy, especially, in view of the threats being posed by Houthi rebels to commercial shipping in the Red Sea region, increasing threats from pirates and China's growing activities in the Indian Ocean region. The new helicopters, equipped with latest avionics, sensors and weapon systems, are likely to provide a significant fillip to the Indian Navy's capabilities given that it currently operates only a limited fleet of Russian Ka-28s and ageing Sea King helicopters which are inadequate and unable to fully support its rapidly growing surface ships fleet. It is important to note that the MH-60 Romeo has been one of the world's foremost, most preferred and extensively used Naval helicopter for the ASW and ASuSW roles with over 600+ MH-60Rs currently in active service by Navies globally which have collectively clocked over 3 million plus flight hours... Image Credits: U.S. Navy