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India says no to US P-3C Orion aircraft Rahul Bedi (IANS) New Delhi, February 4, 2006 In a rare 'no' to Washington, the Indian Navy has called off the leasing of two US Navy P-3C Orion maritime reconnaissance aircraft (MRA) on grounds they are too expensive. The 18-24 months it would take the US Navy to retrofit the two aircraft to the Indian Navy specifications once the lease had been finalised also contributed to New Delhi opting out of the deal. "The lease (of two P-3C Orions) is timed out. It was expensive and time-consuming," a senior Indian official associated...

In a rare 'no' to Washington, the Indian Navy has called off the leasing of two US Navy P-3C Orion maritime reconnaissance aircraft (MRA) on grounds they are too expensive. The 18-24 months it would take the US Navy to retrofit the two aircraft to the Indian Navy specifications once the lease had been finalised also contributed to New Delhi opting out of the deal. "The lease (of two P-3C Orions) is timed out. It was expensive and time-consuming," a senior Indian official associated with the lease negotiations said. The US Navy is believed to have demanded Rs8 billion for...

WASHINGTON: The US Defense Department on Monday told the Congress that it had approved the sale to India of logistics support worth $133 million for two Lockheed Martin Corp. P-3C reconnaissance aircraft it plans to lease. "The two leased P-3C aircraft will replace two existing Indian Navy patrol aircraft, Soviet-built IL-38 May aircraft, which are quickly reaching the end of their fatigue and operational service life," the Defense Security and Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said yesterday. The Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said the logistics support includes training devices, operations and maintenance training, as well as spare parts. Bethesda, Maryland-based...

TAIPEI (AFP) - Taiwan's plan for a huge US arms purchase may finally win parliamentary approval after the military agreed to trim its cost by more than four billion dollars, officials said. The cabinet withdrew from parliament a bill calling for the purchase of 480 billion Taiwan dollars (15 billion US) worth of weaponry from the United States over a 15-year period, in what was seen as a concession to the opposition. The defense ministry said it would submit a new version of the bill to cabinet next week before it goes to parliament. Eight conventional submarines and a fleet...