The Indian government said it will invest more than $8.82 billion over the next five years to explore and extract deepwater oil and gas reserves in the country’s exclusive economic zone and save tens of billions of dollars in crude oil and natural gas imports in the long run. The decision is driven by India’s severe overseas dependence for crude oil, with the country importing up to 89% of its crude oil from abroad.

The Indian Navy is poised to induct three new MH-60R Seahawk multi-role helicopters in July out of the 24 helicopters it ordered in a $2.6 billion deal in 2020 to replace its obsolete Sea King Mk42B fleet. The arrival of the new helicopters, announced by the U.S. Embassy on 17 July, ensures that the Indian Navy has received 23 out of the 24 helicopters it ordered from Lockheed Martin back in 2020. The final helicopter will arrive later this year.

Swedish defence and aerospace manufacturer Saab said it has received an order to deliver two GlobalEye airborne early warning and control aircraft to an undisclosed customer based in the Middle East. The order, valued at a little over $1 billion, demonstrates another major win for the Swedish manufacturer over global aerospace rivals such as Boeing Aerospace, IAI Elta of Israel, Brazil’s Embraer and Russia’s United Aircraft Corporation.