The new Apache and Chinook helicopters are meant to replace the military's ageing Soviet-origin choppers.
Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the US, the Cabinet today cleared the purchase of Boeing's Apache and Chinook helicopters in a deal worth around $3.1 billion, government sources said.
The new 22 Apache attack and 15 heavy lift Chinook helicopters are meant to replace the military's ageing Soviet-origin choppers.
"Both have been cleared," a defence ministry source told news agency Reuters.
The PM left for the United States early on Wednesday. He will attend the UN General Assembly session in New York before heading to Silicon Valley where his appointments include a
townhall at Facebook's headquarters.The deal is the first big military contract for the US since PM Modi's government took office.
The Chinook's primary roles are troop movement, artillery placement and battlefield resupply.
India and the US have rapidly expanded military and business ties in recent years, despite discord over issues such as intellectual property rights and market access.
Washington is keen to step up cooperation across the board, seeing India as a strategic partner in the face of an increasingly powerful and assertive China.
The Chinook is a tandem rotor, heavy-lift helicopter.
The initial batch of Apache helicopters is meant to replace the Indian Air Force's ageing fleet of Soviet-era Mi-35 attack choppers and will be armed with Hellfire and Stinger missiles.
The Indian Army has separately requested a fleet of at least 39 of these attack aircraft, some of which it wants to deploy as part of a new mountain division it is raising along the disputed border with China, according to sources.