NEW DELHI: The United States has cleared USD 428 million worth of sustainment and logistics support for India’s Apache attack helicopters and M777 howitzers, both of which form key elements of the Indian military’s frontline combat capability.
According to notifications issued Tuesday by the US Bureau of Political-Military Affairs, the US State Department cleared a USD 198.2 million Foreign Military Sale (FMS) package for follow-on support services for India’s Apache helicopter fleet, along with a separate USD 230 million package for sustainment support for the M777 ultra-light howitzer system.
The Apache package includes engineering, logistics and technical support services, spares, repairs, training, technical publications and other programme-related assistance with Boeing and Lockheed Martin being the principal contractors.
India had signed a government-to-government deal with the US in September 2015 for 22 AH-64E Apache attack helicopters for the Indian Air Force under a contract worth around USD 2.1 billion. The helicopters were delivered between 2019 and 2020 and are primarily deployed at Pathankot and Jorhat.
Subsequently, in February 2020, India signed another contract worth around USD 800 million for six AH-64E Apache helicopters for the Army Aviation Corps. Deliveries, delayed due to supply-chain disruptions, began in 2025, with the helicopters now assigned to an Army aviation squadron at Jodhpur.
India currently operates a fleet of 28 Apache attack helicopters, 22 with the IAF and six with the Army Aviation Corps.
In a separate notification, the US also approved long-term sustainment support for the M777 ultra-light howitzers acquired by India under a USD 737 million deal signed in November 2016.
According to the US notification, the support package includes ancillary equipment, spares, repair and return services, technical assistance, training, field service representatives, depot maintenance capability and other logistics support elements.
India inducted 145 M777 guns manufactured by BAE Systems, with a number assembled in India in partnership with Mahindra Defence under the Make in India programme. The lightweight artillery systems are deployed extensively in high-altitude sectors along the northern and eastern since they can be rapidly airlifted into mountainous terrain.
The M777 can fire the GPS-guided Excalibur precision ammunition to ranges of around 40 km. The same ammo, capable of near-pinpoint accuracy, was among the munitions used during Operation Sindoor to target terror infrastructure across the Line of Control.
The US notifications said the proposed sales would “support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States” by strengthening the US-India strategic relationship and enhancing the security of a “major defence partner” that remains “an important force for political stability, peace, and economic progress in the Indo-Pacific and South Asia regions”.