The Indian Defence Acquisitions Council has cleared the acquisition of four long-range surveillance aircraft and four amphibious assault warships to boost India’s maritime reconnaissance and strategic sea-lift capabilities.
The two navy contracts, with a cumulative worth of Rs206bn ($4.6bn), include four P-8I Poseidon long-range maritime patrol aircraft and four amphibious warfare ships, called landing platform docks (LPDs).
The P-8Is, armed with torpedoes, depth bombs, Harpoon missiles, long-range radars and sensors, will boost the navy’s anti-warship and anti-submarine warfare capabilities.
The LPDs will bolster India’s blue-water capabilities and can also be deployed for disaster relief operations to evacuate people or transport material.
Two of the four LPDs will be constructed at Hindustan Shipyard (HSL) at Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India, according to the Times of India.
The LPD project will be executed under the “buy and make” category of the defence procurement procedure, which involves licensed indigenous manufacture in collaboration with a foreign manufacturer.
