India inks $1-billion deal with US for 4 P-8I submarine hunter planes

India on Wednesday inked a deal with US defence and aerospace giant Boeing for four P-8I submarine hunter planes, sources said. The contract is a follow-on order to eight P-8I planes bought by India in a deal worth $2.1 billion.

The purchase is the outcome of a contract negotiated between the Indian government and Boeing. The eight planes were inducted between 2013 and 2015.

The P-8I fleet is being augmented to further improve the Indian Navy’s anti-submarine warfare and anti-surface warfare capabilities. The follow-on order for the P-8I, a military derivative of Boeing’s 737-800 commercial aircraft, is worth over $1 billion.

The planes will provide strategic blue water and littoral undersea warfare capabilities to the navy. They are capable of carrying out roles such as intelligence gathering, surveillance and reconnaissance.

The planes, a replacement for the Soviet-era Tu-142 fleet, are expected to be in naval service beyond 2050.

The navy’s P-8I fleet, involved in the effort to locate the missing AN-32 plane, is based at the Naval Air Station Rajali in Tamil Nadu.

The long-range maritime reconnaissance aircraft has an operational speed of 450 miles per hour and a range of 4,500 nautical miles. India was the first international customer for the P-8, which has also been ordered by Australia.