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| Indian Navy P-8I Neptune, A variant of the US Navy Poseidon |
By Ankit Panda
India will purchase four additional Boeing P-8I Poseidon aircraft.
On Wednesday, the Indian Defense Ministry announced that it had cleared $4.74 billion for the purchase of new military equipment, including four long-range military patrol aircraft from the United States. Specifically, India will purchase four additional Boeing P-8I Poseidon surveillance aircraft, among the most advanced maritime intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft currently available. India placed an order for eight P-8I aircraft in 2009—the latest order is four an additional four units.
The P-8I is an export variant of the P-8A Poseidon, designed for the needs of the Indian Navy. Notably, it features a Telephonics APS-143 OceanEye aft radar and magnetic anomaly detector not present on the original P-8A. The Indian Navy has a total of eight P-8Is on order and deliveries began in December 2012. So far, as of this order, seven P-8I aircraft have been delivered to the Indian Navy. With the delivery of the eighth expected later this year and the new approval, the Indian Navy will operate a total of 12 P-8I aircraft in the future.
Read the full story at The Diplomat