India Reduces Orders for American P-8I Anti Submarine Warfare Jets

Amid ongoing discussions for a major Indian acquisition of Boeing P-8I long range anti submarine warfare aircraft from the United States, the Indian Navy has reportedly reduced its planned order to just 6 aircraft. The Indian Navy originally planned to purchase 10 aircraft under a $3 billion contract to provide coverage across the Indian Ocean, but a number of factors including the considerable cost of the aircraft and the emergence of other defence priorities led to a change. The Indian Navy’s share of the overall defence budget has notably dropped from 18% in 2012-13 to 13.66% in 2019-20, with the armed forces prioritising modernisation of the Air Force in particular and seeking to meet highly ambitious expansion plans.

India’s move to cut its orders for P-8I aircraft comes amid an ongoing crisis facing the Boeing company over the quality of its civilian airliners. A contract worth around $1.8 billion is expected to be finalised within two years, and would supplement the 12 P-8I jets previously purchased. While Russia remains India’s primary arms supplier, and the Indian Navy previously deployed the Tu-142 for a similar role, anti submarine warfare has emerged as a leading field in which India has looked to the United States to acquire military hardware. American threats to impose economic sanctions on India are expected to undermine future cooperation, and are speculated to have potentially had some influence on the Navy’s decision to cut its order for anti submarine warfare aircraft.