NEW DELHI, 5 February 2006 — Dispelling apprehensions about India going overboard in displaying its new-found warmth for the United States, the Indian Navy has backtracked from its earlier desire to lease US Navy P-3C Orion maritime reconnaissance aircrafts.
If the negotiations had proved fruitful, it would have marked the revival of sale of American military hardware to India. Even though Indo-US ties have been on the upswing, the only military hardware procured by India from the US in the last few years are the first of 12 AN/TPQ 37 Firefinder weapon locating radars for the Indian Army.
Though the Indian Navy had first evinced interest in the US offer to transfer P-3C Orions in the late 1990s, the talks failed to progress because of the sanctions following the 1998 Pokhran nuclear tests. Orions, manufactured by US defense firm Lockheed Martin, are long-range maritime patrol aircraft with an endurance of 18 hours, according to reports.
Pakistan took delivery of eight US P-3C Orions last year in August. Last year, US offered to sell P-3C Orions to India also. While displaying the desire to consider US offer, the Indian Chief of Naval Staff Adm. Arun Prakash had said: “We have lost a few maritime reconnaissance aircraft and some have retired. So, we are looking out for a replacement. The US offer is one of the candidates.” Russia had also offered to sell naval reconnaissance aircraft to India, the caval Chief said.
Later, Indian Navy justified its demand for P-3C Orions as a requirement borne out of its enhanced policing role in the Indian Ocean region. During the Malabar series of exercises with its US counterpart, the Indian Navy operated with the P-3C Orions.
The Indian Navy has changed its stand on procuring US P-3C Orions as it finds them too expensive. A senior Indian official engaged with the negotiations said: “The lease is timed out. It is expensive and time-consuming.”
It would have taken around two years for the US Navy to retrofit the two aircraft to the Indian Navy. Also, the US Navy is understood to have demanded Rs. 8 billion for the lease via the foreign military sales program. Indian Navy’s decision has also been influenced by fear of possible US sanctions.
