The deal comes weeks before Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits Washington for an official state visit and talks with US President Joe Biden.
India and the United States have set out a roadmap for defense industry cooperation for years to come, the Indian government says – a move that is expected to bolster New Delhi’s defense manufacturing ambitions.
Washington is working to deepen ties with the world’s largest arms importer and sees closer military-military and technological ties with the South Asian country as an important counterweight to China’s dominance in the region.
The roadmap was finalized during a meeting between visiting US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi on Monday.
The agreement comes weeks before Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits Washington on June 22 for an official state visit and talks with President Joe Biden.
Talks between Singh and Austin had a “particular focus on identifying ways to strengthen industrial cooperation,” according to a statement from India’s Defense Ministry.
“Both sides will identify opportunities for the co-development of new technologies and co-production of existing and new systems and facilitate greater collaboration between the two countries’ start-up defense ecosystems,” it said.
“Towards these goals, they have established a roadmap for US-India industrial defense cooperation that will set policy direction for years to come.”
India depends on Russia for nearly half of its military supplies, but has also increasingly diversified its sources to buy from the US, France and Israel, among others.
New Delhi also wants global defense manufacturers to partner with Indian companies and produce arms and military equipment in India for local consumption and export.
India wants to buy 18 high-altitude weaponized drones from General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc for an estimated $1.5 billion to $2 billion, defense analyst Rahul Bedi said. The aircraft would likely be deployed along the troubled borders with China and Pakistan and in the strategic Indian Ocean region, Bedi added.
According to Indian media reports, the joint production and manufacturing of fighter engines, infantry fighting vehicles, howitzers and their precision munitions was discussed in Washington last month at a meeting of the US-India Defense Policy Group.
US defense trade with India has increased from nearly zero in 2008 to more than $20 billion in 2020. Indian purchases from the US include long-range patrol aircraft, C-130 transport aircraft, missiles and drones.