Twenty-four Lockheed Martin MH-60R Seahawk helicopters — a proposed package the State Department put at roughly $3 billion — are the centerpiece of a set of U.S. foreign military sale approvals announced on Monday.
MH-60R Seahawk sale to South Korea
The Defense Security Cooperation Agency posted a potential Foreign Military Sales case that would supply 24 MH-60R Seahawk maritime helicopters to the Republic of Korea Navy for an estimated $3 billion. The package, as described in the announcement, would include airborne low-frequency sonars, engines and self-protection systems. The Republic of Korea Navy already operates the MH-60R type, having ordered an initial batch of 12 helicopters in 2020.
AH-64E Apache upgrades cleared for South Korea
Washington also approved upgrades for South Korea’s fleet of Boeing AH-64E Apache attack helicopters. The proposed upgrade package includes eight AN/APG-78 Longbow fire control radar mast-mounted assemblies, a similar number of Radar Electronic Units, and capabilities for manned-unmanned teaming. South Korea’s army currently operates a fleet of 36 AH-64E aircraft; it had been cleared in 2024 to purchase another 36 to replace older AH-1 Cobras, though it reportedly decided not to go ahead with that acquisition last year.
Two sustainment packages for India: M777A2 and AH-64E
The State Department also cleared two sustainment cases for India, together listed at about $428 million. One package, priced at $230 million, covers sustainment for India’s BAE M777A2 ultralight howitzers — spare parts, repair, training and other support services. The other package, valued at approximately $198.2 million, provides engineering and other sustainment support services for India’s AH-64E fleet. India currently operates 28 AH-64Es, with 22 flown by the air force and the remainder belonging to the Indian Army.
How the DSCA announcement process shapes the approvals
The public notices posted by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency do not constitute final, binding sales. The announcement text itself makes two procedural points: quantities and dollar totals can shift during subsequent negotiations, and the notifications create an opportunity for lawmakers to block a proposed sale within a 30-day window — a step the announcement notes is rare. Those formalities set the near-term timetable for these cases as they move from notice to negotiation and potential contract award.
What this means for South Korea, India, lawmakers, and contractors
- South Korea (Navy and Army): The MH-60R package would expand a platform the Republic of Korea Navy already fields; Apache upgrades aim to augment capabilities already present in a 36-aircraft AH-64E army fleet.
- India (air force and army): The two sustainment packages seek to maintain readiness of deployed systems — the M777A2 howitzers and the 28 AH-64Es split between the air force and army — through spare parts, repairs, training and engineering support.
- U.S. lawmakers: The DSCA notices trigger the statutory 30-day review window that allows lawmakers to assess and, in rare cases, block proposed Foreign Military Sales.
- Defense contractors (Lockheed Martin, Boeing, BAE): The cases identify specific systems and services — new MH-60Rs, Apache radar assemblies and sustainment contracts for M777A2 and AH-64E platforms — that would involve prime contractors and their sustainment partners if the sales progress to contract stage.
The combined set of notices posted on the DSCA website totals about $4.2 billion in potential sales: roughly $3 billion for 24 MH-60R Seahawks to South Korea, plus offers and sustainment cases bringing total announced values to the figure cited by the State Department. These are formal openings to negotiation and review rather than finished transactions; the coming weeks will test how quantities, system mixes and dollar figures are finalized — and whether any lawmaker action alters the current approvals.
