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Afghanistan/South Asia
India's navy in $1.8bn sub deal
2005-09-12
India is to bolster its navy with the purchase of six Franco-Spanish submarines in a deal worth $1.8bn (£985m, 1.4bn euros). The announcement came as India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met France's President Jacques Chirac in Paris. India plans to build six diesel-powered Scorpene SSK-class submarines at a naval dockyard in Mumbai (Bombay). The deal is the latest in a series of military purchases by New Delhi aimed at modernising India's armed forces. India is currently the developing world's leading buyer of military equipment, according to a report for the US Congress. New Delhi spent $5.7bn on arms last year, taking it past China and Saudi Arabia, the Congressional Research Service said in August.

President Chirac welcomed the deal, describing it as "a measure of the friendship, trust and cooperation" between India and France. The submarine deal follows the announcement last week of India Airlines' plan to buy 43 Airbus passenger jets in a deal worth $2.2bn. Speaking at the time, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said the purchase was a "welcome sign" of developing relations between India and the European Union.
And in totally unrelated news:
France supports India's bid for permanent seat in UNSC
Paris: France today came out strongly in support of India's bid for a permanent seat in an expanded UN Security Council, saying its aspiration was "legitimate" and hoped it would be realised. Welcoming Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the Elysee Palace here, President Jacques Chirac also expressed his determination to move forward for cooperation in the field of nuclear energy.
Emphasising that for France, India was a "major buyer of French arms partner" of the world today, he said "and this is the reason why France has always supported India's positions, in particular her legitimate aspiration for a seat at the UN Security Council as a permanent member" as long as the checks keep coming.
Memo to Turkey: there's a lesson here; can you learn it?
Posted by:Steve

#4  As part of the deal, the submarines will be armed with EADS SM-39 Exocet anti-ship missiles.

Posted by: john   2005-09-12 17:36  

#3  Link
Some allege that the modular construction of the Scorpène would allow for the installation of a nuclear propulsion system.[21] It is unclear to what extent DCN might be involved in such an adaptation. France has never exported nuclear propulsion systems.[3] However, as India has been pursuing this capability independently for years, DCN may only be providing implementation assistance without a direct sale of a complete reactor. The French Navy operates the world's smallest nuclear submarine class, Le Rubis. With a submerged displacement of 2,680 tons, it is not significantly larger than a Scorpène-class boat of up to 2,000 tons.[22] The latter with its modular design could potentially incorporate a small reactor with a design similar to the one used in Le Rubis.

Posted by: john   2005-09-12 17:27  

#2  six Franco-Spanish submarines

The ghost of Nelson will sink them all off Trafalgar.
Posted by: Robert Crawford   2005-09-12 16:01  

#1  Hmmm. I wonder how China's ASW training is going. Hard to make all those cheap goodies when the oil tankers can't make it to port.
Posted by: crs   2005-09-12 15:46  

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