♦ India and the U.S. announced cooperation on co-production of U.S. sonobuoys for Undersea Domain Awareness (UDA) for the Indian Navy.

♦ This is a high-end technology that allows tracking submarines in the deep seas and oceans. 

♦ This is the latest in a series of cooperation measures between the two countries as both grow wary of the rapid expansion of Chinese naval presence in the Indian Ocean Region.

♦ This is particularly significant as India has over the years acquired a series of military platforms from the U.S. that are also operated by other countries in the region, especially Australia and Japan, all four of which comprise the Quad grouping and also hold the Malabar naval exercise.

♦ Indian Navy operates the P-8I long range maritime patrol aircraft, is inducting the MH-60R multi-role helicopters and has two MQ-9A armed High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems on lease and signed a $3.5 bn contract in October 2024 for 31 MQ-9B – 15 Sea Guardians for the Indian Navy and 16 Sky Guardians, eight each for the Army and Air Force, with deliveries to begin from January 2029.