India and the U.S. will co-produce sonobuoys, advanced undersea instruments for tracking submarines, under the Make in India initiative.
Partnership involves Ultra Maritime (U.S.) and Bharat Dynamics Limited (India).
Strategic Importance:
Sonobuoys will enhance India’s underwater domain awareness (UDA) to detect submarines in deep waters.
It is a response to the rapid expansion of China's naval presence in the Indian Ocean.
Defense Collaboration:
Builds on the U.S.-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET), launched in 2022.
The sonobuoys will meet U.S. Navy standards, ensuring interoperability across Quad nations (India, U.S., Australia, and Japan).
Technology and Impact:
Includes deployment of sonobuoys alongside advanced platforms like P-8I aircraft and MH-60R helicopters, boosting India's anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capabilities.
Signals a deepening of defense ties and a shift toward indigenous production of high-tech military equipment.
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