New Delhi: India is set to avail 24 MH-60R multi-mission choppers from the United States under their Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. The value of the potential deal is $2.6 billion, as per a statement released on Tuesday by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), the body that administers the FMS program. The principal contractor for the deal will be Lockheed Martin.
“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 defense,” the DSCA said.
The statement notes that India typically requires offsets and that any offset agreement will be defined between India and the contractor.
Along with the hardware requested by the Indian government, there are requests for personnel training and training equipment, U.S. government contractor engineering, logistics and technical support services, the statement said.
India was granted the unique Major Defence Partner (MDP) designation in 2016 by the Obama administration — a step towards India accessing U.S. military technology at a level on par with those of the U.S.’s closest allies.
India also signed the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) agreement with the U.S., providing a legal basis for the U.S. to transfer secure communication equipment to India, increasing military equipment interoperability and real-time data sharing.
The sale comes in wake of heightened tensions between India and Pakistan that began with the Pulwama attack on February 14.
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Ms Kalinga