With 24 Romeo helicopters by 2023, more power to be added to Indian Navy

New Delhi, June 23: The Indian Navy will get three MH-60 Romeo helicopters in July and the same would be handed over by the United States. This would add more power to the Indian Navy.

A team of the Indian Navy is currently training in the US. The next batch of the Romeo helicopters will be handed over in November, while the third consignment would be delivered in June-July next year. By 2023, the Indian Navy will have 24 helicopters.

Currently there is a team of 20 officers and technicians of the Indian Navy who are in the US and are undergoing training. In 2020, India had signed a deal for 24 Romeo helicopters with the US valued at Rs 16,000 crores. The handover of these helicopters is crucial as the Indian Navy has to retire its obsolete Sea King helicopters.

The Romeo is a multirole helicopter which can attack a ship, search and destroy a submarine and also carry out reconnaissance and rescue work. It can also fire the air-to-surface Hellfire missile.

In the US it is also used as a submarine hunters and these capabilities would add more power to the Indian Navy. The helicopter is crucial as America, India, Japan and Australia are forming a common naval force against China's increasing meddling in the sea. The Romeo is used by all these countries and this would mean that the helicopter can take off from an Indian ship and seek help for action from an American ship and then land on an Australian ship once the action is complete.