The United States approves proposed Foreign Military Sales (FMS) covering support services and related equipment for India’s AH-64E Apache helicopters and M777A2 Ultra-Light Howitzers, according to statements by the U.S. Department of State. The Apache portion involves a request for sustainment support services, including U.S. government and contractor engineering, technical and logistics support, technical data and publications, personnel training, and other logistics and program support elements. For the howitzers, the U.S. approves sustainment support for the M777A2, also under FMS channels.
The State Department estimates the Apache support services at about USD 198.2 billion and the M777A2 sustainment support at about USD 230 million. Boeing and Lockheed Martin are identified as principal contractors for the Apache support package, while BAE Systems in Cumbria, United Kingdom, is named as the principal contractor for the howitzers support. The announcements reflect the U.S. authorization of possible sales rather than finalized delivery schedules.
