New Delhi, October 16, 2004

Indicating that the Indo-US strategic partnership is blooming, the United States has offered to sell its Patriot missile defence system to India. Highly placed sources say the offer was made during the discussions between US and Indian officials on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in September.

The Patriot is an air-defence system which can defeat both attack aircraft and tactical ballistic missiles.

Sources say the sale of the Patriot may be linked to India getting on board the National Missile Defence (NMD) as it can also be integrated into the broader NMD framework.

While India is said to have kept its option open on the system, it is in the process of getting a detailed briefing on the NMD.

The offer to sell the Patriot comes with the assurance that the US wants an all-weather defence relationship with India, and that the Next Step in Strategic Partnership (unveiled by the two countries in January) would further facilitate the two countries' defence partnership.

Costing about $90 million a piece, the Patriot missile system is manufactured by the Raytheon corporation of the US. It was given to Israel in 2003 and was earlier used in the Gulf war during Operation Desert Storm by Israel and Saudi Arabia, albeit with mixed success.

A Patriot battery consists of a phased array radar, an engagement control station and up to eight launchers, each of which holds four ready-to-fire missiles.

Although what India has on offer is an upgraded system called PAC-3, talks are still in the preliminary stage and no firm decision has been made about a purchase. India is also considering Israel's Arrow anti-ballistic system.

If India gets the Patriot system, it will be a deterrent against Pakistani and Chinese ballistic missiles and attack aircraft. It can be used to defend against any accidental missile launch.