India and the United States have agreed on a roadmap for collaboration in the defense industry over the coming years. New Delhi expects this development to support its defense industry objectives.
India and US agree on defense cooperation: Greater military-to-military and technological connections with the South Asian nation are seen by Washington as a crucial counterweight to China’s influence in the region. As a result, Washington is striving to strengthen ties with the world’s largest arms importer.
The two parties reached the agreement weeks before Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official state visit to Washington on June 22 and his meeting with President Joe Biden.
Weeks before Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official state visit to Washington on June 22 and his meeting with President Joe Biden, the two parties reached the agreement.
According to a statement from the Indian defense ministry, Singh and Austin’s discussions “focused on identifying ways to strengthen industrial cooperation.”
According to the statement, “both sides will identify opportunities for co-development of new technologies and co-production of current and novel systems and will support increased cooperation between defense start-up ecosystems of the two countries.”
They agreed US-India Defence Industrial Cooperation that will lead the country’s policies for the foreseeable future to acto goals.
Nearly half of India’s military supplies come from Russia, although the country has been expanding its range of suppliers to include the US, France, and Israel, among others.
Additionally, New Delhi wants international defense businesses to collaborate with Indian firms to create weapons and military hardware in India for both domestic use and export.
India’s Defense Plans and Collaborative Efforts with the US
According to defense analyst Rahul Bedi, India aims to purchase 18 armed, high-altitude, long-endurance drones from General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. for between $1.5 billion and $2 billion. Bedi suggests that the aircraft will likely be stationed in the crucial Indian Ocean region and its contentious borders with China and Pakistan.
According to Indian media sources, the US-India Defence Policy Group met last month in Washington and discussed collaborative manufacturing and manufacture of combat aircraft engines, infantry combat vehicles, howitzers, and their precise munitions.
US defense trade with India increased from almost nothing in 2008 to over $20 billion in 2020. India has purchased long-range marine patrol aircraft, C-130 transport aircraft, missiles, and drones from the US.