Skip to main content

Indian Navy benefits from Pentagon paranoia over China

US government in a hurry to get new sub-hunting helicopters into the hands of the Indian Navy.

Sailors assigned to the Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville (CG 62) attach a training pallet to an MH-60R Sea Hawk helicopter from the ship's flight deck during a vertical replenishment training exercise. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Sarah Myers)

To say the Pentagon is concerned about China’s military expansion would be an understatement — just ask the Indian Navy.

According to a report by Paul McLeary for Breaking Defense, the US government was in such a hurry to get sub-hunting helicopters into the hands of the Indian Navy that the Americans gave up some of their own helicopters to fill a rushed delivery early next year.

“This really was one of the higher priorities the [Indian] navy had, to get these aircraft delivered,” Tom Kane, director of Sikorsky’s Naval Helicopter Programs told reporters last week. “I requested that the aircraft be made available on an accelerated basis. So I think there is an urgent need.”

The urgency stems from the decade-long process India has undergone to replace its aging fleet of British-made naval helicopters, as Chinese navy ships, underwater drones and so-called maritime militia civilian-flagged fishing boats spread further into the Indian Ocean, Breaking Defense reported.

With New Delhi in a hurry to begin getting the state-of-the-art helicopters into use, and the US government eager to pull India closer as a hedge against growing Chinese naval capabilities, the US Navy allowed Sikorsky to take three of its brand new MH-60R Sea Hawks and begin modifying them to Indian standards to deliver next spring.
According to The Economic Times, the US$28 million “Romeo” Seahawk helicopters have advanced combat systems like sensors, missiles, and torpedoes to track and hunt enemy boats and submarines — enough to strike fear in a submarine Captain’s mind.

The Navy will receive new MH-60R’s in a few years to replace them. The remaining 21 helicopters will be delivered in 2023 and 2024, Breaking Defense reported.

Most of the changes being made to the aircraft are in the communications and data sharing realm, Kane told reporters.

“They want the ability to talk to their satellites obviously, so there’s an Indian indigenous SATCOM data link. Also,they can talk to their ships so there’s a link to that they’ve asked us to install, and there’s some other modifications like a floatation system, and other things that we’ll have to [change] from the standard US Navy configuration,” he added. 

The MH-60R was born to be a sub hunter, however, and that mission will remain central to the Indian configuration, Breaking Defense reported.

“They’ll come off the line as ASW [anti-submarine warfare] aircraft so they’ll have the active dipping sonar,” the AN/APS-153 radar “and things that you would normally see on a US Navy configuration,” Kane told reporters. 

According to Defense News, the helicopters are to be armed with multi-mode radar, Hellfire missiles, Mark 54 torpedoes and precision-kill rockets.

They are also to be used in limited intelligence gathering roles, for surveillance missions, and in search and rescue efforts, Defense News reported.

The deal is the largest contract Sikorsky has signed with the Indian government. Unlike most other programs, it’s not subject to the “Make in India” effort launched by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Breaking Defense reported.

The company did not sign an offset agreement with India on the project, “so we will put more indirect work over in India,” Kane said.

The Indian defense industry will also likely be involved in any maintenance and retrofit efforts on the aircraft in the coming years.

An MH-60R Sea Hawk assigned to the “Blue Hawks” of Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadron (HSM) 78 stops to refuel on the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70). (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Sean M. Castellano)

 Source : Bharat Shakti 
Labels:
Location: bendre layout, Gubbi cross, DR Bendre Layout, Kothanur, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560077, India

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Border brawl: China choppers were in air

Indian Air Force's Sukhoi 30 fighter aircraft  (File picture) Two helicopters of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army hovered close to the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh on May 5 and Indian Air Force fighter jets had also been airborne at the same time during a face-off between soldiers near the Pangong lake, sources in the army headquarters said on Tuesday. The latest revelations come at a time there has been an escalation in tension in pockets of the disputed frontier. “The Indian Air Force is regularly carrying out sorties of its Sukhoi 30 fighter aircraft in the Ladakh sector amid the simmering tension with China in the region. During the face-off last week, two Chinese choppers had come close to the border but there was no air space violation. The IAF’s Sukhoi 30 fighter jets were also airborne at the same time but it was routine flying and not in response to Chinese helicopters,” a source said. Chinese PLA Choppers Spotted Near LAC; IAF Rushes Fighter Jets To Ladakh...
Post a Comment
Read more

Indian Army looking for new armoured vehicles for Ladakh, Tata among contenders

Humvee and American Stryker Infantry Combat Vehicle are the two others who are also being considered by the Indian Army to deliver such vehicles. Photo of a Tata Defence Combat Light Armored Multi Role Vehicle Seeking to provide highly mobile armoured protection vehicles to its soldiers in high altitude terrains like Eastern Ladakh, the Indian Army is looking to choose from three different vehicles including the indigenous Tata Wheeled Armoured Protection along with American Stryker Infantry Combat Vehicle and Humvee. The Indian Army has a need for armoured infantry combat vehicles for quick movement of troops in the Eastern Ladakh area where the Chinese have deployed their armoured personnel carriers in large numbers. The force is looking at the three options which include the Tata WhAP and the American Stryker and Humvee, defence sources told ANI. The options are being evaluated by the force at the moment and a decision in this regard would be taken soon, they said. Sources said duri...
Post a Comment
Read more

‘Disengagement an intricate process, needs constant verification’: Army

The government’s high-powered China Study Group (CSG) on Wednesday reviewed the latest developments in eastern Ladakh, with focus on the next stage of disengagement between the Indian and Chinese armies following the 14-hour meeting between senior military commanders.   The focus of the current round of military talks is to hammer out a consensus on easing tensions between the two armies in the Finger Area and Depsang plains as well as pulling back weapons and equipment from friction points in other sectors.(PTI) India and China remain committed to “complete disengagement” which is an “intricate process” and “requires constant verification”, the Indian Army said in a statement on Thursday, two days after senior military commanders from both sides met at Chushul to discuss the road map for reducing tensions along the contested Line of Actual Control (LAC). “The senior commanders reviewed the progress on implementation of the first phase of disengagement and discussed further step...
Post a Comment
Read more