The US State Department has approved the sale of anti-submarine warfare sonobuoys and related equipment to India for an estimated $52.8 million.
New Delhi requested the purchase of AN/SSQ-53G high altitude anti-submarine warfare (HAASW), AN/SSQ-62F HAASW, and AN/SSQ-36 sonobuoys.
Sonobuoys are small expendable sonar buoys dropped from aircraft and vessels for anti-submarine warfare or underwater acoustic research.
To Enhance MH-60R Capability
The equipment will enhance the anti-submarine capacity of the Indian Navy’s MH-60R helicopters, six of which were commissioned in March.
India bought 24 MH-60Rs from the US in 2020 for $2.2 billion, with delivery expected through 2025.
“The proposed sale will improve India’s capability to meet current and future threats by enhancing its capacity to conduct anti-submarine warfare operations from its MH-60R helicopters,” the Defense Security Cooperation Agency stated.
“India will have no difficulty absorbing this equipment into its armed forces.”
The principal contractor(s) will be Sparton Corporation in De Leon Springs, Florida, or Undersea Sensor Systems Inc. in Columbia City, Indiana, or a combination of both.
The proposed sale includes no offset agreements as of now.
Key Security Agreements Signed
The approval came the day Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh met US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in Washington, DC.
A day earlier the countries signed two key pacts: a non-binding Security of Supply Arrangement (SOSA) and a memorandum of agreement regarding the assignment of liaison officers to improve cooperation and interoperability.
The SOSA mandates India and the US to provide reciprocal priority support for defense goods and services, enabling “both countries to acquire the industrial resources they need from one another to resolve unanticipated supply chain disruptions to meet national security needs.”