India, US prepare roadmap for defence cooperation post Rajnath Singh's meeting with Lloyd J Austin

General Electric F-414 engines will likely be manufactured in India in partnership with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited under technology transfer with the USA

India and USA on Monday prepared a new roadmap for defence cooperation and began negotiations on two umbrella pacts to facilitate long-term technology supply from the American military industry, besides discussing the final contours of a long-awaited bilateral programme to manufacture US-origin jet engines in India for made-in-India fighter planes.

Though none of the two nations officially spoke about the jet engine programme following a high-level meeting between Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Secretary of Defence Lloyd J Austin, sources said they indeed discussed the ambitious project, which might be inked during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first state-visit to the USA later this month.

The plan is to manufacture General Electric F-414 engines in India in partnership with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited under technology transfer.

While current generations of the home-grown Tejas Light Combat Aircraft are being powered by the GE-F-404 engines, the Aeronautical Development Agency way back in 2010 had selected 99 GE-F-414 engines with much higher thrust to power the Tejas LCA-Mk II for the IAF.

Read | India-US partnership cornerstone of free and open Indo-Pacific, says US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin

The same engine may also be used for two other indigenous fighter jet programmes – AMCA (advanced medium combat aircraft) and TEDBF (Indian Navy’s twin engine deck-based fighter aircraft). Both projects are at the initial design phase.

New Delhi's plan to procure 30 MQ-9B armed drones from US defence major General Atomics was also discussed.

Rajnath and Austin decided to initiate negotiations on a Security of Supply Arrangement and a Reciprocal Defence Procurement Agreement, which will promote long-term supply chain stability, besides reviewing the regulatory hurdles impeding closer industry-to-industry cooperation.

“The two countries explored ways of building resilient supply chains and concluded a roadmap for US-India Defence Industrial Cooperation, which shall guide the policy direction for the next few years,” a defence ministry official said.

The roadmap, according to a Pentagon statement, will fast-track technology cooperation and co-production in areas such as air combat and land mobility systems, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, munitions; as well as the undersea domain.

The initiative will include a set of specific proposals that can provide India access to cutting-edge technologies and support its defence modernisation plans.

Prime Minister Modi will also unveil a new initiative named India-US Defence Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS-X) to advance cutting-edge technology cooperation.

To be launched by the US-India Business Council on June 21, this is designed to complement the existing government-to-government collaboration by promoting innovative partnerships between US and Indian companies, investors, start-up accelerators, and academic research institutions.

Read | India, US look to enhance defence industrial cooperation

Austin and Singh also discussed the growing importance of innovation and cooperation in emerging domains such as space, cyberspace, and artificial intelligence. The two countries have recently launched the Advanced Domains Defense Dialogue, a new collaborative programme to look into such emerging technologies.

This is Secretary Austin's second visit to India, the previous one being in March 2021, and is a part of the four-nation tour he is undertaking.

The top US official also met National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and exchanged views on regional and global security issues of concern, including maritime security in the Indian Ocean Region.