US approves $82M anti-ship missile sale to India

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - The US has approved the sale of an anti-ship missile system to India for $82 million, the State Department's Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a statement on Monday.

The deal includes a Harpoon Joint Common Test Set (JCTS), a Harpoon intermediate-level maintenance station, spare and repair parts, support, test equipment, publications, and technical documentation, as well as personnel training, it said.

It also includes technical, engineering, and logistics support services, it added.

"This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to strengthen the US-Indian strategic relationship and to improve the security of a major defensive partner, which continues to be an important force for political stability, peace, and economic progress in the Indo-Pacific and South Asia region," the statement said.

"This proposed sale will improve India's capability to meet current and future threats by providing India with flexible and efficient Harpoon missile maintenance capabilities to ensure maximum force readiness. India will have no difficulty absorbing this equipment into its armed forces," it added.

The principal contractor will be the Boeing Company, the agency noted.

The US recognizes India as a major defense partner since India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Washington in June 2016.​​​​​​​