SEAHAWK
SQUADRONS - DEFENCE & SECURITY
News:
Indian Navy commissions
first MH-60R squadron at Kochi
What's
in the news?
●
Indian Navy is set to commission the first
squadron of MH-60R Seahawk helicopters at INS Garuda in Willingdon Island,
Kochi, Kerala.
Key
takeaways:
INS
Garuda:
●
It is a naval air station located at
Willingdon Island (largest artificial island in India) Kochi, Kerala.
●
It is the oldest operating air station of
the Indian Navy commissioned in 1953.
Seahawks
and Indian Navy:
●
The Seahawks squadron will be commissioned
in the Indian Navy as INAS 334 at Southern
Naval Command.
●
These platforms are part of a $2.6 billion
Foreign Military Sales deal with United States for 24 Lockheed Martin/Sikorsky
MH-60R Seahawk anti-submarine warfare and anti-surface warfare helicopters.
●
Six of them have been delivered to the
Indian Navy so far.
●
Delivery of the entire fleet expected to
be completed by 2025.
MH-60R
Seahawk Helicopter:
●
It is an all-weather helicopter designed to support multiple missions with
state-of-the-art avionics and sensors.
●
The helicopter is designed for
anti-submarine warfare (ASW), anti-surface warfare (ASuW), search and rescue
(SAR), medical evacuation (MEDEVAC) and vertical replenishment (VERTREP).
●
The MH-60R helicopter is designed to
operate from frigates, destroyers,
cruisers and aircraft carriers.
●
It is a maritime variant of the Blackhawk helicopter.
●
These helicopters are manufactured by Sikorsky, a subsidiary of aerospace
giant Lockheed Martin.
Features:
●
This helicopter is crewed by four
personnel during anti-submarine warfare operations and by five personnel during
anti-surface warfare missions.
●
It is equipped with advanced airborne
active sonar, a multi-mode search radar, and a nose-mounted forward-looking
infrared (FLIR) turret.
●
This helicopter also boasts an integrated self-defence
system.
Go
back to basics:
Indian
Navy:
The Indian Navy operates
following three commands:
●
The Western Naval Command at Mumbai
●
The Eastern Naval Command at Visakhapatnam.
●
The Southern Naval Command at Kochi.
Significance:
●
It would enhance India’s blue-water
capabilities, extending the operational reach of the Navy in Indian Ocean.
●
It strengthens India’s position against
the China's increasingly aggressive forays into the Indian Ocean Region.