Bangladesh Gives India A List Of Military Hardware It Wants To Buy From India

Official sources say that Dhaka recently sent India a list of military platforms and systems that its armed forces would like to buy from India. This is a step forward in the delayed implementation of the $500 million defence Line of Credit (LoC) that India gave to Bangladesh. This includes a variety of things, such as a floating dock, a logistics ship, and an oil tanker for the Bangladesh Navy.

“Bangladesh is updating its military by getting new weapons and making infrastructure improvements. This is part of its “Forces Goal 2030.” One official source said, “India has the ability to meet a big part of these needs, which will also help the two countries work together on defence.”

The LoC that was made longer in 2018 can be used until April 2029. The source said that progress has been slow, but that many different kinds of equipment are being thought about at different stages.

The source said that, so far, the Bangladesh Army has approved the purchase of three items under the LoC: five Bridge Layer Tanks (BLT-72) for about $10 million, seven portable steel bridges (Bailey) for about $2.2 million, and 11 Mine Protective Vehicles from the Tata Group for about $2.2 million.

The Bangladesh Army also wants to buy Mahindra XUV 500 off-road vehicles, Mahindra door hard top vehicles for about $2.35 million, heavy recovery vehicles, armoured engineer reconnaissance vehicles, and bulletproof helmets. Shapoorji Pallonji and Company Private Limited wants to modernise and expand an automobile assembly unit at a machine tools factory in Bangladesh. They also want to buy two types of explosives for more than 4 crore, 21 types of raw materials for around 3 crore, and 10 types of tools for 6.6 crore.

A source said that the Bangladesh Navy wants to buy a logistics ship, a floating dock, an oil tanker, and an ocean-going tug.

Sources say that defence cooperation and the implementation of the LoC will be talked about at the highest levels while Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is in India.

Sources said that India is eager to sell artillery guns, mortars, rockets and missiles, support vehicles, electronic and engineering equipment, radars, helicopters, military rakes, and ship building services. They pointed out that India’s own defence industry is growing.

A second source said that India could also help Bangladesh build up its sea and airport infrastructure, among other things.

The source also said that there is a lot of room for cooperation in high-tech areas where India has knowledge and is willing to share it with our neighbours. These areas include IT and cyberspace, satellite and space technology, maintenance and overhaul, developing the local defence industry, and training. “In order to do this, there could be more senior-level military visits and more military drills,” the source said.

Last month, India and Bangladesh held their fourth annual defence dialogue and tri-Service staff talks. During these talks, both sides talked about how the LoC was being used and paid a lot of attention to defence industrial cooperation and building capabilities.

In May 2018, Khulna Shipyard Limited of Bangladesh and Garden Reach Ship Builders of Kolkata signed a Memorandum of Understanding so that Garden Reach Ship Builders could help Khulna Shipyard Limited design and build warships.

China has sold weapons to Bangladesh, including two conventional diesel-electric submarines. China has become one of the most important places to get arms, especially for countries near India.

In order to stop this, India has recently greatly increased its military diplomacy and help for countries in the Indian Ocean Region to build their military capabilities and improve their military capabilities.