US President Donald Trump on Wednesday approved USD 1billion weapons sale to India. The Trump administration notified to the USCongress its determination to sell USD 1 billion worth of naval guns to Indiafor use against warships, anti-aircraft and shore bombardment. The move willenhance the lethal capabilities of the Indian Navy. The proposed foreignmilitary sale of up to 13 MK-45 5inch/62 caliber (MOD 4) naval guns and relatedequipment is at an estimated cost of USD 1.0210 billion, Defense SecurityCooperation Agency said in its notification to the Congress on Tuesday.

To be manufactured by the BAE Systems Land and Armaments,the proposed sale will improve India's capability to meet current and futurethreats from enemy weapon systems, the notification said.

"The MK-45 Gun System will provide the capability toconduct anti-­surface warfare and anti-air defence missions while enhancinginteroperability with US and other allied forces," the notification said.

India will use the enhanced capability as a deterrent toregional threats and to strengthen its homeland defence, it said. The proposed saleof this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in theregion, it said. According to the notification, this notice of a potential saleis required by law and does not mean the sale has been concluded.

With this, India has become one of the few countries thatthe US decided to sell its latest version (Mod 4) of its naval guns. The othercountries to have been sold with MOD 4 naval guns so far are Australia, Japanand South Korea. The one given to Thailand is an upgraded MOD 4 version. The UShas also determined to sell these to a few other allies and friends includingBritain and Canada.