New Delhi: The Indian Navy has dropped its plan to lease two P3C Orion maritime reconnaissance aircraft (MRA) Aircraft from the US.
Orion is a maritime surveillance aircraft with highly advanced capabilities. Incidentally, Pakistan Navy is set to get eight of these planes soon.
Assistant Chief of Naval Staff, Real Admiral Sunil Damle, says that the plan has been scrapped as the Navy's Ilyushin-38 aircraft are being modernised in Russia. India is planning to buy eight new aircraft for maritime duties.
This comes as major blow to aviation giant Lockheed Martin, who makes the P3C Orion planes. Lockheed was planning to use this deal to push its proposal to sell F-16 fighters to the Airforce.
The scrapping of the Orion deal was announced at the Indian Navy's annual Fleet review being held at Vishakhapatnam on Sunday.
This is the first time that the review is being held in the Eastern Coast, a clear signal that India wants its Navy to be reckoned as a major force in the Indian Ocean.
As supreme commander of the armed forces, President APJ Abdul Kalam reviewed the ships and naval aircraft assembled for the occasion. He has also become the first President of India to take a ride in a submarine.
(With inputs from Vishal Thapar)
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