Vital helicopters planned for the Indian Navy: NMRH and NUH

The SeaKing with tail rotor folded (photo: Simon Watson)

All major maritime forces across the globe are highly dependent on navalised helicopters and aircraft for a wide range of operations including the utility and strike roles (both on surface and underwater). Naval helicopters are tasked to tackle most threatening and high-risk missions in adverse sea conditions. These airborne vehicles,powered by modern turboshaft engines are capable of operating from  small decks, (offshore vessels, corvettes, frigates) but also from destroyers and aircraft carriers as advanced scouts. The new modular mission-specific systems allow the same helicopter type to be assigned diverse naval operations. 

The Indian Navy, fifth-largest in the world, currently operates a combined fleet (fixed wing and rotary) of some 240 aircraft, of which about half are rotary-wing. The Indian Navy presently has a fleet of 140 warships including one aircraft carrier, ten guided-missile destroyers, over a dozen frigates, 22 corvettes and several offshore vessels. These frontline are however facing acute shortage of naval utility and multi-role helicopters and consequently, these surface assets could be vulnerable to enemy submarines in the absence of efficient shipborne ASW assets and this handicap could well impact on the Navy’s basic operational capabilities. 

(photo: Simon Watson)

The Indian Navy’s Air Arm includes several decades-old Westland SeaKing Mk.42s, Ka-28s,UH-3Hsand HAL Chetak helicopters for utility, SAR, ASW anti-ship and utility roles.There is also the Ka-31 for AEW and recently ten more have been ordered from Russia. There are a sizeable number of DhruvALHsin the inventory too.

Ka-31 AEW (Photo: Indian Navy)

The helicopter numbers and thuscapabilities arepatently inadequate to support the Navy’s current and future surface fleet, and the Indian Navy has a full-fledged master plan, according to which, the Navy plans to induct over 250 naval utility and multi-role helicopters,worth over $15 billion under the two separate procurement programmes: 111 Indian Naval Utility Helicopters (NUHs) and 123 Naval Multi-Role Helicopters (NMRHs). Both theNUH and NMRH are to be built-in-India by selected Indian aerospace companies in collaboration with foreign OEMs as per the ‘Strategic Partnership’ model of DPP 2016. 

Naval ALH (photo: Indian Navy)

Over and above these, seventeen naval ALH Dhruv helicopters will also join the Indian Navy in the next few years. Acquisition of 24 MH-60R helicopters from the US is also being finalised, as part of the 123 NMRHs required.  

IN Chetak (photo: Indian Navy)

The MH-60R Seahawk 

In April 2019, the US State Department cleared supply of24 MH-60R helicopters to India at an estimated cost of $2.6 billion. This package will include delivery of numerous critical equipment besides the basic helicopter such as Telephonics' AN/APS-153V multimode maritime surveillance radar, Raytheon's AN/AQS-22 Airborne Low-Frequency sonar and AN/AAS-44C(V)  Multi-Spectral Targeting System, AVS-9 Night Vision Devices, ARC-210 RT-1990A(C) radios with COMSEC, ARC-220 High Frequency radios, APX-123 IFF transponders and embedded GPS/INS (EGI) with selective availability/anti-spoofing module (SAASM). 

The US will also deliver associated weapon systems for the Indian Seahawks that includes SSQ-36/53/62 sonobuoys, Mark 54 lightweight torpedoes, Naval Strike Missiles, AGM-114 Hellfire missiles, Advanced Precision Kill Weapons System (APKWS) rockets and M-240D & GAU-21 crew-served guns.

The Indian Navy is buying these American Seahawks in an urgent purchase under the Foreign Military Sale (FMS) route to replace the decades-old SeaKings and Russian Ka-28s, the induction of this new-generation helicopter adding unmatched anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare capability to the Indian Navy. These will also carry out highly versatile special missions of the Indian Navy, which include support of marine commandos (MARCOS) and tri-service AFSOD. 

Major frontline warships of the Indian Navy including INS Vikramaditya, Kolkata-class and Delhi-class destroyers and Talwar-class frigates will embark the Seahawk helicopters.

Powered by T700-GE-401C turboshaft engines, the Seahawkswill also be used for combat search and rescue, maritime surveillance and reconnaissance, naval gunfire support, electronic warfare and intelligence and communication relay.

The agreement to supply these could beby end of this year. “The LOR (Letter of Request) and LOA (letter of Acceptance) procedures (are on track) and we should be ready by the end of the year,” Indian Navy Chief Karambir Singh recently stated.

The Naval Multi-Role Helicopters (NMRH) 

Indian Navy will have total 123 Naval Multi-Role Helicopters including the 24 MH-60Rs while the other 99 will be produced by an Indian partner in 'Strategic Partnership' with the foreign helicopter manufacturer under the 'Make in India' scheme. Besides ToT, Navy seeks flight and maintenance simulators, training, shore and engineering support, 10 years performance-based logistics (PBL), weapons and sensors under the agreement.

The 12-ton twin-enginedmedium multi-mission helicopters are primarily designed to perform anti-ship and anti-submarine warfare. As per the Navy's RFI, the Indian Navy NMRH will be in two configurations: Multi-role & Special Ops. The multi-role variant will have capabilities to carry out tasks such as ASW, AShW, ELINT, SAR, external cargo-carrying over 2.5 ton and limited casualty evacuation, and the Special Ops version will employ MARCOS and AFSOD, troop carriage, maritime interdiction including counterterrorism raids and anti-piracy operations. Both variants will be capable of conducting night-missions from warships and shore-bases. 

The NMRHs with modern sensors and weapons such as surface search and attack maritime surveillance radar, dipping sonars and magnetic anomaly detector (MAD), electro-optic pod, self-protection suite, SDR-based communication suite, advanced IFF transponders, lightweight torpedoes, sonobuoys, short and long-range anti-ship missiles and depth charges would enhance the IN’s capability in detecting, tracing and attacking warships, UUVs and submarines. These naval helicopters will be force multipliers for the surface fleet of theNavy. 

Besides Lockheed Martin's MH-60R, NHIndustries NH-90 Sea Lion, Airbus' H225M Caracal and Russian Kamov Ka-27M are other contenders for the Indian Navy's NMRH request. In 2018, Airbus had offered its H225M platform and is currently working with the Mahindra & Mahindra Group for its helicopter programme. Airbus has its H225M Caracal in the contest and is pitching critical technology transfer to Indian industry. However, the NMRH-deal still could take years to finalise, with the Navy pushing hard to expedite them.

Airbus Helicopters H225M

HAL has initiated its own programme to develop a 10-ton class multi-role helicopter. However, the government has not yet approved this project.  

Naval Utility Helicopters (NUH) 

Naval Utility helicopters (NUH) are considered as backbone of thenaval force and are employed for all sorts of maritime operations. The Indian Navy presently continues with the HAL Chetaks for utility duties, however, some new ALHs have entered into service to supplement these. 

After a satisfactory experience with the naval Dhruv, in 2017 the Indian Navy ordered 17 more of these under two separate contracts, equivalent to the IAF's ALH Mk.III version, but fitted with XtraVision 2004 maritime airborne surveillance radar and dipping sonar, LWT and depth charges. Presently, the ALHs are being used for advanced search and rescue, heliborne ops, armed patrol with night-vision devices, coastal security and low-intensity maritime missions. The first new ALH is to be inducted in 2020.

The AS565 MBe naval version of Airbus’ Panther family of helicopters

The Navy has a requirement for some 111 NUHs which, along with requisite equipment, training and weapons would be at an estimated cost of around $3 billion. The contract for 111 NUHs will be executed in the same manner as to NMRH, under the 'Strategic Partnership model' of DPP 2016. Of the 111 utility-helicopters, 16 could be supplied by the selected foreign OEM partner with the  remaining 95 built by the selected Indian SP. Indian firms such as Tata, Mahindra Defence, Larsen &Toubro, Kalyani Group, Adani Defence, Reliance Infra, Godrej Aerospace as well as HAL, could participate in the contest with selected foreign partners.

These five-ton shipborne helicopters will conduct virtually all types of naval tasks including limited ASW, AShW and ELINT role. The Navy wants the NUHs fitted with major sensors and subsystems comprising EO-pod, maritime-radar, data-link, self-protection, IFF transponders and software-defined radios. The helicopters will be twin-engine with wheeled landing and blade-folding features.

In response to the Navy's RFI, three foreign companies have submitted their bid: Airbus has offered two utility platforms in its H145M and AS565 Panther. Airbus and Mahindra & Mahindra Group had earlier announced their collaboration for both NMRH and NUH requirements. Russian export agency, Rosoboronexport and the PSU HAL have offered the Ka-226 helicopter for the Indian Navy, while US-based Lockheed Martin-Sikorsky proposes its S-76D utility helicopters, Sikorsky has a JV with Tata Advanced Systems for the programme. Besides these three OEMs, South Korean KAI and US-based Bell Helicopters could also participate in this multi-billion ‘tournament’. 

HAL has really showcased its 5-ton shipborne Advanced Light Helicopter with a modern maritime cockpit, blade-folding and tail-boom folding capabilities for use on naval ships. The naval ALH with new capabilities could be available within two years as per sources at HAL.