India To Purchase 15 Surveillance Planes Worth Rs 29,000 Crore To Boost Maritime Capabilities

New Delhi: The Defence Ministry has approved a proposal to purchase 15 maritime surveillance aircraft for the Indian Navy and Coast Guard. The patrolling aircraft would be built upon the Made in India C-295 transport aircraft at a cost of Rs 29,000 crore.

The Indian Air Force had selected the Airbus C-295 aircraft to replace its obsolete transport fleet in 2021.

The transport aircraft would be equipped with the required radars and sensors and turned into a maritime patrol plane by the Defence Research and Development Organisation’s Centre for Airborne Systems (CABS).

The decision was taken by the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) under the chairmanship of Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Friday.

Of the 15 surveillance aircraft, Indian Navy will get nine aircraft while Coast Guard will get six.

Four of the C-295 planes will be made in the European facilities of Airbus to ensure the platforms are available quickly. The remaining aircraft will be made in India by the joint venture between Airbus and India’s Tata Advanced Systems, Bloomberg reported.

A Defence Ministry statement stated, “The medium-range, multi-mission maritime reconnaissance aircraft will strengthen “the surveillance and interdiction capabilities of the Indian Navy and the Indian Coast Guard over the country’s vast maritime area.”

The council approved Acceptance of Necessity (AoNs) for various capital acquisition proposals amounting to Rs 84,560 crore, the Ministry stated on Friday.