UditVani, New Delhi: India and the US have moved towards the next generation defense partnership. Expressing their desire to accelerate defense industrial cooperation, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and American President Joe Biden welcomed the adoption of a Defense Industrial Cooperation Roadmap and hoped that the roadmap will provide policy direction to defense industries and enable co-production of advanced defense systems and collaborative research, testing and prototyping of projects.
PM Modi and President Biden said that both sides are committed to addressing any regulatory barriers to defense industrial cooperation. They also noted that the decision of India’s Ministry of Defense and the U.S. Department of Defense to commence negotiations for concluding a Security of Supply arrangement and initiate discussions about Reciprocal Defense Procurement agreement, augurs well for furthering defence cooperation.
PM Modi and President Biden also hailed the landmark signing of an MoU between General Electric and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for the manufacture of GE F-414 jet engines in India and the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited Light Combat Aircraft Mk 2.
According to the agreement, this trailblazing initiative to manufacture F-414 engines in India, will enable greater transfer of U.S. jet engine technology than ever before. The leaders committed their governments to working collaboratively and expeditiously to support the advancement of this unprecedented co-production and technology transfer proposal.
PM Modi and President Biden also welcomed India’s emergence as a hub for maintenance and repair for forward deployed U.S. Navy assets and the conclusion of Master Ship Repair Agreements with Indian shipyards. This is expected to allow the U.S. Navy to expedite the contracting process for mid-voyage and emergent repair. As envisaged in the Defense Industrial Roadmap, both countries agree to work together for the creation of logistic, repair and maintenance infrastructure for aircrafts and vessels in India.
They also welcomed the setting up and launch of the India-U.S Defense Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS-X). As a network of universities, startups, industry and think tanks, INDUS-X will facilitate joint defense technology innovation, and co-production of advanced defense technology between the respective industries of the two countries.
The U.S. Department of Defense’s Space Force has signed its first International Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with Indian start-up 114 AI and 3rdiTech. Both companies will work with General Atomics to co-develop components using cutting edge technologies in AI and semiconductors respectively.
PM Modi and President Biden also welcomed India’s plans to procure General Atomics MQ-9B HALE UAVs. The MQ-9Bs, which will be assembled in India, will enhance the ISR capabilities of India’s armed forces across domains. As part of this plan, General Atomics will also establish a Comprehensive Global MRO facility in India to support of India’s long-term goals to boost indigenous defense capabilities.
It is worth-mentioning that the India-U.S Major Defense Partnership has emerged as a pillar of global peace and security. Through joint exercises, strengthening of defense industrial cooperation, the annual “2+2” Ministerial Dialogue, and other consultative mechanisms, both countries have made substantial progress in building an advanced and comprehensive defense partnership in which their militaries coordinate closely across all domains.
Both leaders appreciated the strong military-to-military ties, mutual logistics support, and efforts to streamline implementation of foundational agreements. They noted that information sharing and placement of Liaison Officers in each other’s military organizations will spur joint service cooperation.
PM Modi and President Biden also reiterated their resolve to strengthen maritime security cooperation, including through enhanced underwater domain awareness. The leaders welcomed the launch of dialogues in new defense domains including space and AI, which will enhance capacity building, knowledge, and expertise.
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