Indian Navy retires Sea King Mk 42B helicopter fleet and Indian Naval Air Squadron 330 after 55 years of service

Exam-focused facts from the 17 June 2026 current affairs briefing.

Key facts

The Indian Navy (IN) retired the Sea King Mk 42B helicopter fleet and decommissioned the Indian Naval Air Squadron 330 (INAS 330), known as the "Harpoons".
The Sea King Mk 42B, nicknamed "Flying Frigates", completed its final ceremonial flight from INS Shikra, the Western Naval Command base in Colaba, Mumbai.
Commissioned on 17 April 1971 at INS Garuda, Kochi, INAS 330 earned 22 Nausena Medals and served extensively during the 1971 Indo-Pak war.
The fleet was used for anti-submarine warfare, anti-ship missions, and search-and-rescue operations, and will be repurposed as utility transport helicopters ('Barlies') and test beds for the Naval Anti-Ship Missile (NASM).
The IN is modernising its rotary fleet with newer platforms such as the Sikorsky MH-60R multi-role helicopters.