The US has approved the sale of 13 naval guns and
related equipment worth $1 billion to India to help it “meet current and future
threats”, according to the Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA).
While addressing the media, the DSCA said on
Wednesday that the State Department approved the sale of the anti-surface
warfare and anti-air defence MK 45 5 inch/62 calibre (MOD 4) naval guns and the
agency notified Congress about it on Tuesday clearing the way for the deal to
go through.
The statement said that India has requested to buy
up to 13 MK-45 5 inch/62 caliber (MOD 4) naval guns and 3,500 D349 Projectile,
5”/54 MK-92 MOD 1 ammunition.
The deal also includes other ammunition, spare parts, personnel training and equipment training, publications and technical data, transportation, US government and contractor technical assistance and other related logistics support. The total estimated cost is $1.0210 billion.
The proposed sale will support the foreign policy
and national security of the US by improving the security of a strategic
regional partner.
According to US security experts here, the sale
will improve India’s capability to meet current and future threats from enemy
weapon systems. The MK-45 Gun System will provide the capability to conduct
anti-surface warfare and anti-air defence missions while enhancing
interoperability with the US and other allied forces.
India will use the enhanced capability as a deterrent
to regional threats and to strengthen its homeland defence. The proposed sale
will not alter the basic military balance in the region.
The principal contractor will be BAE Systems Land and Armaments, Minneapolis, Minnesota, with gun manufacturing in Louisville, Kentucky.
There are no known offset agreements proposed in
connection with this potential sale. Any offset agreement required by India
will be defined in negotiations between the purchaser and the contractor(s),
said the release by DSCA.
The deal is the latest development in the growing
defence ties between India and US and the announcement came as the two
countries were holding a joint military exercise, Tiger Triumph from a naval
base in Vishakhapatnam.
“Military collaboration between India and the
United States is a result of growing, high-level trust and consistent effort to
broaden the ways in which we can work together,” US Ambassador Kenneth Juster
said at the start of the exercise last week.
The DSCA announcement included a clarification that
“the proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic
military balance in the region.”
