The New Indian Express ·
India to upgrade Lankan air defence guns, proposes joint maritime surveillance grid
NEW DELHI: India will upgrade six L-70 air defence guns of the Sri Lankan Air Force under a government grant, in the most substantive of three defence agreements exchanged in Colombo on Wednesday, as Defence Minister Rajnath Singh proposed an integrated real-time maritime surveillance grid to give the two countries a common operating picture of shipping around the island nation.
The gun-upgrade agreement, along with pacts on military academic cooperation and youth exchanges, was signed during Singh’s three-day visit to Sri Lanka. As reported by TNIE on Sunday, the three agreements were expected to be concluded during the visit.
The L-70 guns, originally supplied to Sri Lanka by India, will be upgraded under the grant. The modernisation, the defence ministry said, will “significantly strengthen the air defence architecture of critical assets in Sri Lanka”.
