India-US Defence Ties: US defence major Ultra Maritime has entered into a strategic partnership with state-run Bharat Dynamics Ltd to jointly produce anti-submarine warfare sonobuoys in an effort to boost the Indian Navy’s maritime prowess as threats from Chinese warships and submarines increase in the Indian Ocean Region and beyond.
Sonobuoys are specialised devices that are dropped from aircraft or ships into the sea inside canisters. These devices then float on the surface or remain suspended underwater. Sonobuoys are equipped with hydrophones or active sonar transducers that monitor sound waves in the water, transmitting data back to operators on the surface.
The deal, which is pegged at around $53 million, was announced by the outgoing US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan during his visit to India. The deal was approved by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency under the foreign military sales (FMS) route in August 2024 during Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s visit to the country.
A readout issued by the White House after Sullivan’s visit to India welcomed “the advancement of discussions between Ultra Maritime and Bharat Dynamics Limited to enhance undersea domain awareness through a first-of-its-kind partnership on co-production of US sonobuoys in support of the US and Indian defense industrial bases”.
Sullivan, who was on his last visit to India as America’s NSA, called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi Monday after holding two key meetings with his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.
The sonobuoys, which will be produced in line with the ‘Make in India’ programme, will be integrated with the Indian Navy’s submarine-hunting MH-60 Romeo helicopters. India has purchased 24 MH-60R choppers, out of which six are in operation with the Navy at present.
Deal Comes Amid Mounting Threats
The acquisition of sonobuoys is expected to strengthen the Navy’s anti-submarine warfare capabilities amid mounting threats in the sea. The sonobuoys can also be deployed from P-8 and MQ-9B Sea Guardian Predator Drones. The Navy is expected to soon receive 15 Sea Guardian drones under a separate deal with the US. Together, all these will complement the existing fleet of 12 P8-I maritime-patrol aircraft.
India has plans to acquire 500 sonobuoys across several variants — AN/SSQ-53G High Altitude Anti-Submarine Warfare (HAASW) sonobuoys, AN/SSQ-62F HAASW sonobuoys, and AN/SSQ-36 sonobuoys — in order to effectively detect Chinese submarines and those of other adversaries.
According to the notification issued by the Biden administration to the US Congress in this regard, India continues to be “an important force for political stability, peace and economic progress in the Indo-Pacific and South Asia region”. It also said that the proposed sale of sonobuoys will allow India “to meet current and future threats”.