Posted on 02/03/2011 11:27:02 AM PST by sukhoi-30mki
3 Feb, 2011, 05.07PM IST, Biswarup Gooptu,ET Bureau
Indian Navy to buy four more P-8Is aircraft
BANGALORE: The Indian Navy has decided to exercise its option for an additional four Boeing P-8I long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft in a bid to boost its maritime patrol capabilities as well as counter piracy threats and the growing Chinese influence in the Indian Ocean.
In a deal expected to range between $1 billion to $1.5 billion, the new aircraft will be in addition to the eight the Navy had ordered in January 2009, for about $2.1 billion. The new contract price is also expected to include the cost of aero-structures and avionics.
“The Indian Navy has received the necessary government approvals and has decided to go ahead with the contractual processes to acquire four additional P-8I aircraft under the options clause,” Commander PVS Satish, public relations officer for the Indian Navy told The Economic Times.
According to sources, Boeing has already submitted its draft offset contract to the defence ministry last week. “The government is considering exercising the option of adding four P-8I aircraft,” Dr Vivek Lall, vice-president, Boeing Defence, Space & Security told ET. The P-8I, which is based on the Boeing next-generation 737 commercial airplane, is a variant of the P-8A Poseidon that the defence vendor Boeing is developing for the US Navy. India is the first international customer for the P-8 platform.
The first of the eight P-8I aircraft, which were bought through the direct commercial sales route with Boeing, are expected to be delivered to India within 48 months of the original contract signing. The aircraft are of supreme strategic importance for India’s naval forces, with the country looking to enhance its role in the high seas.
Further, the global community has been clamouring for India to play a more dominant policing role against sea piracy in the Straits of Malacca, which is one of the busiest commercial and military sea-routes in the world, and along the East African coast.
Also, in the ongoing scramble for sea power in the world’s thirdlargest ocean, India has been desperate to stop what it perceives as a growing Chinese hegemony in the region. Separately, Boeing has also submitted a reply to the Navy’s Request for Information for six medium-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft as well.
However, ministry sources did not confirm whether any of the other global defence vendors had responded to the same. Others expected to be in the running for the contract include Russia’s Ilyushin, France’s Dassault and EADS . Like most defence deals pursued in India, the acquisition of the MRMR aircraft has followed a long and tortuous route. With the original global Request for Procurement issued in 2008, before the Mumbai attacks, the same was later scrapped by the defence ministry on certain technical grounds.
The current RFI also specifies the aircraft should be able to carry out electronic intelligence gathering and counter-measures, besides maritime patrol and search and rescue within an operational envelope of 350 nautical miles or almost 650 kilometres, as well as a patrol endurance of at least three and a half hours.
There are additional requirements that the aircraft be capable of carrying at least two anti-ship missiles and a jamming pod. As with the P-8I, the navy has specified in the RFI that certain pieces of equipment must be indigenous, like Identification Friend or Foe Interrogator with Secure Mode, MSS Terminal, BFE, Datalink and Speech Secrecy Equipment and vendors must indicate their commitment to integrate this equipment into the aircraft.
ping
It carries more than two missiles plus other ASW weapons. Also, where is the sensor suite on that wee air tractor?
P-8A Poseidon Movie Trailer
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgTv5DrJLcM
Indeed. Latest bloc Harpoons on harpoints plus five more in an internal weapons bay. Anti-submarine torpedoes and mines. MAD, sonobuoys, multiple datalinks, etc. No comparison.
We should be offering to build them a carrier.
“Also, where is the sensor suite on that wee air tractor?”
The “sensor suite” is whatever the pilot hears over the engine. ;)
They are building one to replace the INS Viraat. Also, they are going to acquire a Russian carrier-cruiser (Ex-Admiral Gorshkov). We could always offer one of our recently decommissioned conventional carriers, but that may be a bit pricey.
Bwahahaha!
They don’t need a super sized carrier, they need specialized for service in the Indian ocean.
A buddy of mine was a MCPO on the USS America (the last non-nuke carrier?) He said it was more dangerous duty than his days as a helicopter door gunner in RVN. Said he was happy to hear that damn thing sank with nobody aboard!
If we want to help India, give them a new one!
We don’t make small carriers. The closest thing we have to a baby carrier would be an LPH. The last carriers we built in the displacement range that you suggest was the Midway-class carriers.
It depends on the condition of the ship upon decomm and how well it is rennovated for its new life. We have sold decomm ships to a lot of allies over the decades. That said, what would India do with a supercarrier? Outside of an LPH, that is pretty much all we would have to offer for carrier aviation at the moment.
Well, we could also offer an LHD.
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I’m aware of that, but we could design anbuild anything they want.
No dispute there. But they are already building one themselves and getting a refurbished Russian carrier-cruiser. These would be in the fleet faster than it would take for a shipyard here to design and build one for them. Now, if your are talking about building a third such carrier for the Indian Navy, then that could be an option that they could explore.
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