Moving to deepen their defence ties, India and the United States have agreed to advance priority co-production projects, including jet engines, unmanned platforms, munitions and ground mobility systems, under the US-India Roadmap for Defence Industrial Cooperation.
This announcement by the Pentagon came hours after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who is visiting the US, held bilateral talks with his counterpart, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J Austin, at the Pentagon Friday.
The US government also approved Friday the proposed sale of $52.8-million anti-submarine warfare (ASW) sonobuoys and related equipment to India for the multi-role MH-60R Seahawk helicopters being inducted by the Indian Navy to hunt submarines.
Sonobuoys help naval ASW forces to track hostile submarines and subsequently hunt them with air-launched weapons. The ASW helicopters usually drop sonobuoys, which transmit information back via radio link, to track the locations of hostile submarines.
According to the Pentagon statement, Singh and Austin discussed ongoing efforts to deepen the ‘Major Defense Partnership’ between the US and India in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific region.
The discussions to advance key co-production projects are significant given that India is negotiating a series of big-ticket defence deals with the US.
Discussions have been ongoing on the pact between General Electric (GE) Aerospace and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to manufacture GE F-414 jet engines in India to power the LCA MK 2 fighter jets and the procurement of 31 MQ-9B High-Altitude Long-Endurance (HALE) UAVs. Officials have confirmed that negotiations on various aspects of the deals are currently underway.
Deliveries of the GE-F404 jet engines, which power the LCA Tejas Mark-1A fighter, have been delayed, affecting the delivery schedule of the indigenously-made fighter jets to the IAF.
Co-production of the Stryker infantry combat vehicles and the Javelin Anti-Tank Guided Missiles (ATGM) — on which India and the US have begun talks recently — were to feature in the discussions during Singh’s visit. The development of infantry combat vehicles for India is part of the defence industry cooperation roadmap between the two countries.
On Thursday, India and the US signed two key pacts: a non-binding Security of Supply Arrangement (SOSA) and a Memorandum of Agreement regarding Assignment of Liaison Officers. These two key bilateral defence initiatives were welcomed by Singh and Austin during their meeting.
The US Department of Defense has been working on negotiating and concluding a new Reciprocal Defence Procurement (RDP) Agreement with India.
Also Friday, the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the certification notifying Congress of the possible Foreign Military Sale (FMS) of ASW sonobuoys and related equipment to India for the US-made multi-role MH-60R Seahawk helicopters.
A statement in this regard said the Indian government has requested to buy AN/SSQ-53G high-altitude ASW sonobuoys, AN/SSQ-62F HAASW sonobuoys and AN/SSQ-36 sonobuoys as well as engineering, technical and logistics support.
“This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by helping to strengthen the United States-India strategic relationship and improving the security of a major defense partner which continues to be an important force for political stability, peace, and economic progress in the Indo-Pacific and South Asia regions,” it said.
It said the proposed sale will improve India’s capability to meet current and future threats by enhancing its capacity to conduct anti-submarine warfare operations from its MH-60R helicopters.
“India will have no difficulty absorbing this equipment into its armed forces,” it stated, adding that the proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region.
In March this year, the Indian Navy commissioned the first squadron of six MH-60R Seahawk helicopters at INS Garuda in Kochi. The helicopters were part of a 24-helicopter deal with the US that was inked in February 2020. The other squadrons are likely to be inducted by next year.
The MH-60R Seahawk, equipped with a range of advanced combat systems, would be used by the Navy to hunt enemy submarines in the Indian Ocean Region. The anti-submarine choppers would be equipped with Hellfire air-to-surface missiles, Mark 54 anti-submarine torpedoes, advanced sensors and radars. They will also have anti-surface warfare capabilities.
According to MH-60 manufacturer Lockheed Martin, the platforms are deployed by the US Navy as its primary anti-submarine warfare and anti-surface weapons system for open ocean and littoral zones.
The ties and the message
The progress made in defence co-production projects comes at a time when the US is headed to polls, reflecting the bipartisan consensus there on the ties with India, especially in Indo-Pacific. Incidentally, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh was holding talks in the Pentagon the day PM Modi was in Kyiv, asking President Zelenskyy to sit at the table with President Putin and find a way out of the crisis over the war.
On Friday, Singh and US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan discussed ongoing defence industrial collaboration projects and potential areas where the industries of the two countries could work together.
In the meeting that took place at the White House in Washington DC, they also discussed the evolving geopolitical situation and other key regional security issues.
A statement released Saturday by the Ministry of Defence stated that Singh also interacted with the senior leaders of the US defence industry at a round-table organised by US India Strategic Partnership Forum in Washington DC. The round-table was attended by several US defence and technology companies.
According to the statement, Singh highlighted that India welcomes US investment and technology collaboration, and is ready with a skilled human resource base, robust pro-FDI and pro-business ecosystem, and large domestic market.
“India looks forward to closely working with the US across the domains of defence for capability building and for an abiding technology and industrial partnership which can address emerging challenges,” he said.
He also met a delegation from the US-India Business Council.