In a improvement that comes amidst India’s ongoing navy confrontation with China in jap Ladakh, long-range maritime patrol plane of the US appear to have begun refuelling from the strategically-located Andaman & Nicobar island archipelago. An American P-Eight Poseidon plane, armed with radars in addition to missiles and rockets to tackle enemy submarines and warships, landed at Port Blair for a number of hours on September 25 for logistics and refuelling assist, stated sources on Friday.
Whereas India and US have been offering refuelling and operational turnaround amenities to one another’s warships beneath the reciprocal navy logistics pact inked in 2016, that is the primary time that an American navy plane has landed on the A&N archipelago. The occasion is important as India and US have additionally cooperated in workouts in the Indian Ocean area close to the Andamans — a vital maritime provide line for China.
India has been deploying its P-8I planes for surveillance missions over the Indian Ocean as well as keeping tabs on the People’s Liberation Army along the frontier in eastern Ladakh. Indian warships and submarines, of course, are also on the prowl on the eastern seaboard due to the heightened tensions with China since early-May.
The inking of another military pact with the US called the COMCASA (Communications, Compatibility and Security Arrangement) in September 2018 has also paved the way for greater access to advanced military technologies with encrypted and secure communications and data links from the country. The six new P-8I aircraft, for instance, will have COMCASA-protected equipment, which are much more advanced and secure than the commercially available ones.
The US has already bagged lucrative Indian defence deals worth over $21 billion just since 2007.
