India signs $2.1 billion contract with Boeing for eight P-8I maritime aircraft

New Delhi: Unconfirmed media reports suggest the Indian government may have actually inked its biggest-ever defence deal with the United States - a $2.1 billion contract for the delivery of eight Boeing P-8I long-range maritime reconnaissance (LRMR) aircraft for use by the Indian Navy.

Though unconfirmed, reports suggest that the deal may have been signed on 1 January 2009 after receiving clearance from the Cabinet Committee on Security sometime in December 2008.

If authentic, the P-8I deal in size would overhaul a $962 million contract for six C-130J Super Hercules aircraft for the Indian Air Force. This contract with Lockheed Martin was signed in 2007.

Reports suggest that the first delivery of the P-8I would be made by end-2012, or early-2013, with the remaining deliveries being made in a phased manner through 2015-2016.

The contract may include options for a further four to eight aircraft.

The P-8I is intended to replace the eight ageing Russian Tupolev-142M turboprops currently in operation with the Navy. It will be armed with torpedoes, depth charges and Harpoon anti-ship missiles and will provide anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare capabilities to the Navy's air wing.

The P-8I will have an operating range of over 600 nautical miles.

The P-8I is based on the Boeing 737 commercial airliner and is a variant of the P-8A Poseidon multi-mission maritime aircraft currently being developed for the US Navy.