The Indian Government has reportedly issued a Letter of Request (LoR) to the US Administration for the supply of 127mm medium calibre guns.
The guns will be installed on large-size naval ships, including the Visakhapatnam-class destroyers of India.
The request comes at a time when India and China are engaged in a border conflict. It is expected that such a capability will better position the country to respond to a potential dispute.
The LoR is for procuring 11 127mm medium calibre guns, which are in use with the US Navy.
The deal is valued at about Rs3.8bn ($519m) and the guns are manufactured by BAE Systems.
The new plan suggests that the first three guns will be provided to the Indian Navy on an urgent requirement basis. It is expected to be supplied from the US Navy’s own inventory.
The Indian Navy is currently working in close cooperation with the US counterpart. Most of the new capability acquisitions being made by India are from the US.
In July last year, the Indian Navy expanded its deployment of frontline ships and submarines in the Indian Ocean Region.
In November, the Indian Navy inducted two Predator drones into its operations, under a lease agreement with a US vendor.
