By Santanu Choudhury
NEW DELHI-The U.S. is planning to sell two dozen anti-ship
missiles to India for an estimated $200 million, underscoring the
fast-expanding defense ties between the two nations.
The U.S. Department of Defense said the Boeing Co. Harpoon
missiles would be used on Indian submarines.
The missiles will be sold directly to India by the U.S.
government which means the Defense Department has to notify the
U.S. Congress about the potential deal as mandated by law.
The U.S. Department of Defense said in a release that the
proposed missile deal will, "strengthen the U.S.-India strategic
relationship and to improve the security of an important partner
which continues to be an important force for political stability,
peace, and economic progress in South Asia."
The missile deal will be a new milestone in the growing defense
ties between the U.S. and India. U.S. military sales to India have
been rising in recent years, driven by deepening diplomatic
relations between the world's two largest democracies.
India is spending billions of dollars to modernize its aging,
Soviet-era equipment as regional rivals China and Pakistan also
improve their military capabilities.
In recent years, India has become the world's largest arms
importer. The country imported $1.9 billion worth of U.S. military
hardware in 2013, making it the largest export market for U.S. arms
makers, according to military consultancy IHS Jane's.
The moves to buy more military hardware from the U.S. shows
India's attempt to diversify its supplier base away from its
decades-long reliance on Russia for weapons.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research
Institute, Russia supplied 75% of the arms imported by India
between 2009 and 2013, with the U.S. making up just 7%.
India's new government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is
now planning to lift the foreign direct investment limits for
defense joint ventures in the country to speed up the process of
modernizing its military and to also save precious foreign
exchange.
The Harpoon missiles package includes a dozen Block II missiles
which can hit ships as well as land-based targets, according to
Boeing. The company has sold more than 7,300 Harpoon and Harpoon
Block II missiles to the U.S. Navy and more than 30 countries since
1971.
India has used the Harpoon missiles for its Jaguar fighter
aircraft and P-8I maritime patrol aircraft, so it should "have no
difficulty absorbing these additional missiles into its armed
forces," the Defense Department said.
Write to Santanu Choudhury at santanu.choudhury@wsj.com
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