Trump, Modi firm up big-ticket defence partnership; US paves way for supply of F-35 combat jets to India

Washington: India and the US unveiled an ambitious plan to ink a new 10-year defence partnership and pursue co-production of key weapons and platforms with President Donald Trump announcing that Washington would increase sales of military hardware to New Delhi by millions of dollars including possible supply of F-35 stealth combat jets.

After their wide-ranging talks at the White House on Thursday (Friday India time), Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Trump vowed to break "new ground" to support and sustain overseas deployments of the US and Indian militaries in the Indo-Pacific, including for enhancing logistics and intelligence sharing.

India's proposed procurement of six additional P-8I long-range maritime surveillance and anti-submarine warfare from the US was officially confirmed. The Indian Navy already operates 11 P-8I aircraft.

The two leaders also announced plans to pursue this year new procurements and co-production arrangements for 'Javelin' anti-tank guided missiles and 'Stryker' infantry combat vehicles in India to rapidly meet its defence requirements.

The ambitious plan to boost India-US defence ties comes against the backdrop of China's increasing military muscle-flexing along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) as well as in the Indian Ocean Region.

Modi and Trump also called for opening negotiations this year for an India-US Reciprocal Defense Procurement (RDP) agreement to better align procurement systems and enable the reciprocal supply of defence goods and services.

The leaders resolved to accelerate defence technology cooperation across space, air defence, missile, maritime and undersea technologies, with the US announcing a review of its policy on releasing fifth-generation fighters (F-35) and undersea systems to India.

"Starting this year, we will be increasing military sales to India by many billions of dollars," Trump said at a joint media briefing with Modi.

"We are also paving the way to ultimately provide India with F-35 stealth fighters," he added.

The F35 jets are known as the most lethal, survivable and connected fighter aircraft in the world.

Asked at a media briefing if India plans to procure F-35 jets from the US, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, said it is at a proposal stage.

"This is currently something that's at the stage of a proposal. But I don't think the formal process in this regard has started yet," he said.

In his remarks, PM Modi said the US has an important role in India's defence preparedness.

"As strategic and trusted partners, we are actively moving in the direction of joint development, joint production and transfer of technology," he said.

"In the coming time, new technology and equipment will increase our capability. We have decided to launch the Autonomous Systems Industry Alliance," he said.

The prime minister said the defence cooperation framework will be created for the next decade, adding defence interoperability, logistics, repair and maintenance will also be its main parts.

Highlighting the deepening convergence of US-India strategic interests, the leaders reaffirmed their "unwavering" commitment to a dynamic defence partnership spanning multiple domains.

To advance defence ties further, the leaders announced plans to sign this year a new 10-year framework for the US-India 'Major Defense Partnership' in the 21st Century, a joint statement said.

"They announced plans to pursue this year new procurements and co-production arrangements for 'Javelin' anti-tank guided missiles and 'Stryker' infantry combat vehicles in India," it said.

In another important move, the two sides decided to review their respective arms transfer regulations, including International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), in order to streamline defence trade, technology exchange and maintenance and in-country repair and overhaul of US-provided systems.

Modi and Trump also announced a new initiative - the Autonomous Systems Industry Alliance (ASIA) - to scale industry partnerships and production in the Indo-Pacific.

The leaders welcomed a new partnership between Anduril Industries and Mahindra Group on advanced autonomous technologies to co-develop and co-produce state-of-the-art maritime systems and advanced AI-enabled counter Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) to strengthen regional security.

The two sides also noted arrangements between L3 Harris and Bharat Electronics for the co-development of active towed array systems.

"The leaders also pledged to elevate military cooperation across all domains – air, land, sea, space, and cyberspace – through enhanced training, exercises, and operations, incorporating the latest technologies," the statement said.

Modi and Trump also resolved to advance military cooperation in multinational settings to advance global peace and security, it said.

"The leaders applauded India's decision to take on a future leadership role in the combined maritime forces naval task force to help secure sea lanes in the Arabian Sea," it added.