Posted on 10/06/2010 6:33:33 AM PDT by sukhoi-30mki
India to buy modern warships, maritime planes at $4.5 billion
English.news.cn
MUMBAI, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- The Indian Navy will acquire four modern amphibious ships and four P-8I long range maritime patrol planes totally worth about 4.5 billion U.S. dollars, local media reported on Wednesday.
The acquisitions of the warships and planes were approved by the Defense Acquisition Council headed by Defense Minister A.K. Antony on Tuesday evening, reported the Press Trust of India, citing an official of the Defense Ministry.
The four amphibious warships will be made in India through license from a foreign country according to a technological co- operational agreement at a cost of about 3.5 billion U.S. dollars, while the four P-8Is will cost about one billion U.S. dollars, said the report.
Currently, the Indian Navy operates a small fleet of the amphibious vessels, including a large amphibious transport ship, some aging tank landing ships and other smaller vessels. The large amphibious transport ship was procured from the U.S. in January 2007, and is the second largest vessel with a full displacement of 17,000 tons in the Indian Navy.
It will be the largest procurement of the amphibious ships by the Indian Navy in recent years. As the four warships enter the service, they will enhance the coastal amphibious operational capabilities of the Indian Navy.
However, the Indian Navy has not disclosed the technological details of the four amphibious ships.
P-8I is a U.S. newly-developed maritime long range patrol plane with the world's most sophisticated anti-submarine systems. Besides, it is also capable of carrying out anti-surface and other missions with the missiles.
In January 2009, the Indian Navy signed an agreement with the U. S. to buy eight P-8I planes worth nearly 2.1 billion U.S. dollars, so as to replace the aging long range aerial reconnaissance fleet of eight Russia-made Tu-142s and five IL-38 planes.
Within next ten years, the Indian Navy will operate 12 modern P- 8I planes, which will become the largest aerial fleet of the modern long range patrol planes over the Indian Ocean.
Editor: Mo Hong'e
CGI of the P-8I
So, India really trying to make the Indian Ocean India Lake.
Which are 12 more than the U.S. Navy will be operating.
I think they're trying to avoid having the Indian Ocean become a Chinese lake.
That sounds better than making it Uncle Mao’s private pond.
Yup. You’re probably correct.
No love lost there.
I say more power to them. Remember they are right next to Pakistan, a muslim craphole. Beef up the Indians so they can help in our future war with Pakistan.
They named it the Poseidon???
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They are also heavily investing in more artillery. M777 for the Pakistan border, and (I think) FH-70 for the Chinese border.
Actually its the other way around-the triple-7 is meant for the frontier with China which has poorer infrastructure. The lack of infrastructure and air-mobile artillery in the North-Eastern region was one of the main reasons that triple-7 was purchased via FMS while the purchase of SPH is still at the competitive stage.
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