The Indian Navy has requested the sale of ten aviation anti-ship missiles Boeing AGM-84L Harpoon Block II and 16 anti-submarine torpedoes Raytheon Mk 54 LWT caliber 324 mm. The armament is intended for the American base patrol aircraft Boeing P-8I Neptune (Poseidon), which are in service with the Indian Navy.
The planned sale of the requested weapons will take place through the American program of intergovernmental foreign military sales Foreign Military Sales (FMS). The US State Department has already given its permission to sell, a corresponding notice has been sent to Congress.
It is reported that the cost of Harpoon Block II missiles will be $ 92 million, and India will pay $ 54 million for the Mk 16 torpedoes (except for 63 combat torpedoes, five practical torpedoes will be included in the delivery).
As noted by the bmpd blog, the Indian Navy in the period 2012-2015 received eight P-8I base patrol aircraft, which are in service with the 312th Indian Naval Aviation Squadron. In addition, in 2016, India ordered four more P-8I aircraft for delivery in 2021-2022. In June 2019, the Indian Ministry of Defense approved the acquisition of ten more American base patrol aircraft P-8I Poseidon (Indian name - Neptune) for the Indian Navy, but later their number was reduced to six.