Request to Congress on sale is still pending, though.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: The US will be selling a number of submarine missiles to India in the near future.
According to a press release put out last week by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), the US is planning the sale of 12 UGM-84L Harpoon Block II Encapsulated missiles, 10 UTM-84L Harpoon Encapsulated Training missiles, and two Encapsulated Harpoon certification training vehicles.
Additionally, the sale will include “containers, spare and repair parts, support and test equipment, personnel training and training equipment, publications and technical data, U.S. Government and contractor engineering and logistics support services, and other related elements of logistics support.”
The Department of State is in the process of requesting Congress for approval on the sale; as of July 1, the date of the press release, that request is still pending. If approved, then the sale will go through as soon as possible, to the tune of an estimated $200 million.
“This proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to strengthen the U.S.-India strategic relationship and to improve the security of an important partner which continues to be an important force for political stability, peace, and economic progress in South Asia,” says the DSCA press release.
The Harpoon missile system will be used by the Indian Navy’s Shishumar class submarine (Type-209). These will complement the Harpoon missiles India has already purchased for its Air Force Jaguar aircraft and its Navy P-81 maritime patrol aircraft. The sale is expected to go through, and integration of the purchased material into India’s existing fleet is not expected to have any major hitches.
The principal contractors involved with the sale are Boeing and Delex, which could be “expected to conclude offset agreements with the Government of India but no offset agreement is currently known to have been proposed in connection with this potential sale,” as per the guidelines of the Indian Defense Procurement Policy.