UPDATE - India to receive 4 anti-submarine aircraft from Boeing

UPDATES WITH MORE DETAILS, REVISED HEADLINE; CORRECTS DECK

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ANKARA (AA) - The Indian Navy will receive four more anti-submarine warfare aircraft from the U.S. aerospace company Boeing starting May, local media reported Wednesday.

The procurement process will be completed by 2022 at a cost of $1 billion, according to Indian daily The Hindu.

The South Asian nation already has eight P-8I long-range maritime reconnaissance anti-submarine warfare aircraft, which were procured in a $2.2 billion deal in 2009.

The aircraft are deployed in India’s southern Tamil Nadu province.

“These aircraft will also be in the same configuration as the earlier eight aircraft. Plans are on to install encrypted communication systems on the earlier ones,” the newspaper quoted Indian Navy sources as saying.

It added that these systems were available to India "following the conclusion of the foundational agreement Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement with the U.S." in September 2018.

The P-8Is are the Indian variant of Boeing's P-8 aircraft designed for long-range anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions, according to the company.

"The aircraft plays a crucial role in being the eyes of the Indian Navy and carrying out critical maritime operations. The aircraft has surpassed 25,000 flight hours and gives India's maritime warriors a significant edge in the strategically important Indian Ocean region. Of the 12 ordered aircraft, India has received eight, making the Indian Navy's P-8 fleet the second largest in the world. Another four aircraft are on-schedule to be delivered in 2020," said the Boeing India.

"The P-8I is not just responsible for coastal patrolling but is also used for other critical missions like search-and-rescue, anti-piracy, and supporting operations of other arms of the military," it added.

Both India and the U.S. are also cooperating in encrypted communications between their navies after the two forces signed a loan agreement in March 2019, and installed two Pacific-fleet-provided Combined Enterprise Regional Information Exchange System kits at the Indian Navy headquarters.

The India-U.S. partnership has shared interests in diverse fields including security, trade, and connectivity.

Last month, they inked three MoUs including a $3 billion defense deal during U.S. President Donald Trump's much-hyped maiden visit to India.