|
P8I aircraft will give Indian Navy maritime patrol edge: Boeing |
 |
The Boeing P8I maritime patrol aircraft the Indian Navy is on the verge of acquiring in a $2.2 billion deal will give it a marked edge in the Indian Ocean region and one that is comparable to its US counterpart, the aircraft’s manufacturer said in Rent¬on, Washington.
“This will be the first time the Indian Navy will be able to operate a platform almost simultaneously with the US Navy,” Richard Buck, Boeing’s international programme manager for the P8, told a group of visiting Indian journalists at the company’s production facility here.
“Besides, India will be able to leverage on the substantial investment made in the P8 by the US Navy without having to pay for the development costs,” Buck said, adding that $4 billion had already been spent on the development of the aircraft.
The P8 is based on the hugely successful Boeing 737 commercial airliner and the first aircraft is currently under construction in Renton. Its first flight will take place early in 2009 and the first of the 108 aircraft the US Navy has ordered will be deliv¬ered in the third quarter of 2009.
Negotiations are in an advanced stage for the purchase of eight P8Is for the Indian Navy. The contract, when signed, will be unique in that it will not be conducted under the US foreign military sales (FMS) programme but as a direct commercial agree¬ment between The Boeing Company and the Indian Navy.
The Indian Defence Ministry is conducting the negotiations on behalf of the Indian Navy and the contract is likely to be inked in New Delhi later this year.
“Under the RFP (request for proposal) of the Indian Navy, the first aircraft has to be delivered within 48 months of the con¬tract being signed and the remaining within an eight-year time frame,” Buck said.
|
