New Delhi: The US has approved a USD 52.8 million government-to-government deal for the sale of Anti-Submarine Warfare Sonobuoys that will be integrated with the Indian Navy’s Romeo helicopters.
The approval came during the ongoing visit of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to the US.
The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale Friday.
India wanted the AN/SSQ-53G High Altitude Anti-Submarine Warfare (HAASW) sonobuoys; AN/SSQ-62F HAASW sonobuoys; AN/SSQ-36 sonobuoys besides logistics and support from the US under the Foreign Military Sales route for the MH-60R helicopters already procured from the Americans.
The US Department of Defense said this proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the US by helping strengthen the US-India strategic relationship and improving the security of a major defense partner which continues to be an important force for political stability, peace, and economic progress in the Indo-Pacific and South Asia regions.
The proposed sale will improve India’s capability to meet current and future threats by enhancing its capacity to conduct anti-submarine warfare operations from its MH-60R helicopters.
The principal contractors for this deal will be Sparton Corporation, located in De Leon Springs, Florida, or Undersea Sensor Systems Inc. (USSI), located in Columbia City, or a combination of both. There are no known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale.
Known as Submarine Hunters, the Romeo, manufactured by Lockheed Martin Corporation, is an all-weather helicopter designed to support multiple missions with state-of-the-art avionics and sensors.
India had ordered 24 of these helicopters under Foreign Military Sales (FMS) from the US government last year.
FMS is the American equivalent of the government-to-government contracts India has carried out with Russia for various systems and with France for the Rafale fighter jets.
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