The US government has approved the sale of the Lockheed Martin MH-60R Seahawk maritime multisession helicopter to India.

The US State Department has cleared India to procure 24 MH-60R helicopters, as well one MH-60B/R Excess Defence Article (EDA) helicopter from the US Navy that will likely be used for training.

In addition to the helicopters, the proposed package includes related anti-submarine warfare equipment and weapons, anti-surface warfare weapons, and air-to-ground weapons, as well as spares, training, and support.

Specific weapons included in the notification include Raytheon thirty MK 54 torpedoes, Lockheed Martin ten AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, and BAE Systems 38 Advanced Precision Kill Weapons System laser-guided rockets, as well as 12 M-240D and 12 GAU-21 crew-served machine guns. Kongsberg Naval Strike Missile emulators and captive inert training missiles are also included, although not the missiles themselves.

According to the Defence Security Cooperation Agency, the estimated value of the deal is USD2.6 billion.