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The United States has approved the sale of Harpoon Joint Common Test Set (JCTS) and related equipment for an estimated cost of $82 million, further boosting Indias fire power.
"The state department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military sale to the Government of India of Harpoon Joint Common Test Set (JCTS) and related equipment for an estimated cost of $82 million," the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a statement. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying the Congress of this possible sale on Tuesday. "The Government of India has requested to buy one Harpoon Joint Common Test Set. Also included is one Harpoon Intermediate Level maintenance station; spare and repair parts, support, and test equipment; publications and technical documentation; personnel training; US government and contractor technical, engineering and logistics support services; and other related elements of logistics and programme support. The estimated total cost is $82 million," it stated. This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to strengthen the US-India strategic relationship and to improve the security of a major defensive partner, which continues to be an important force for political stability, peace and economic progress in the Indo-Pacific and South Asia region. The Harpoon is an all-weather, over-the-horizon, anti-ship missile developed and manufactured by McDonnell Douglas that uses active radar homing and flies just above the water to evade defences. This proposed sale will improve India's capability to meet current and future threats by providing India with flexible and efficient Harpoon missile maintenance capabilities to ensure maximum force readiness. India will have no difficulty absorbing this equipment into its armed forces. The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region. The principal contractor will be The Boeing Company, St. Louis, MO. There are no known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale. Any offset agreement required by India will be defined in the negotiations between the purchaser and the contractors. "Implementation of this proposed sale will require the assignment of one US contractor representative to India for a duration of one year to support technical reviews, support and oversight," the agency said. In June 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited the US. Back then, the US recognised India as a major defence partner, which commits the US to facilitate technology sharing with India. --IANS sk/arm ( 426 Words) 2021-08-03-22:48:01 (IANS)
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