Ten things to know about India-US deal for Poseidon-8I aircraft

[INDIAPOSITIVE]

India has signed a deal worth $1 billion with aerospace giant Boeing for procuring four additional 'Poseidon-8I' aircraft. Here are ten important things to know about the deal:
1.
P-8I is the Indian Navy variant of the P-8A Poseidon that the American defence has developed for the US Navy.


2.
These planes will provide strategic blue water and littoral undersea warfare capabilities as well as armed intelligence and surveillance to the Navy.


3.
The first aircraft will be delivered in 50 months.

4.
The long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft has an operational speed of 450 miles per hour and a range of 4,500 nautical miles.


5.
P-8I fleet is based at the Naval Air Station Rajali in Tamil Nadu.

6.
The Navy will also be able to drop and monitor sonobuoys ((a buoy equipped to detect underwater sounds and transmit them), being used in the search for the missing AN32 aircraft of the Indian Air Force.


7.
The P-8I, a shot in the arm of Indian Navy, will help it to keep a strict vigil over the Indian Ocean, which has seen numerous Chinese submarine forays, including docking of a nuclear sub in Sri Lanka.


8.
Last year, India had signed a contract to the tune of $3 billion for 22 Apache and 15 Chinook helicopters. With the latest contract, the total value of defence deals signed with the US in the last one decade comes to around $15 billion.


9.
The contract was inked during the ongoing visit of US Under Secretary for Defence on Acquisition Frank Kendall.


10.
It is a follow-on order to eight P-81 planes already bought by India in a direct deal with the firm worth $2.1 billion.




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