During his recently concluded three-day visit to the United States, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi secured a major deal to bolster New Delhi's military capabilities.
The US is helping India to domestically produce fighter jets.
According to The Times of India , during the visit, General Electric (GE, USA) and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL, an Indian state-owned enterprise) agreed to cooperate in the production of the F414 engine. This is the same engine used in India's Tejas fighter jets.
With a top speed of up to 1,980 km/h, a range of 1,850 km, a combat radius of 500 km, and the ability to carry a variety of weapons for multi-role operations, the Tejas is gradually being positioned by New Delhi as a primary fighter aircraft for the Indian military after years of reliance on fighter jets supplied by the Soviet Union and then Russia. Several other countries are also considering ordering Tejas from India.
Indian Navy P8 Poseidon aircraft
However, India still relies on GE for the F414 engine. Therefore, joint production of this engine allows New Delhi to accelerate the localization of the Tejas fighter jet. This not only reduces its dependence on Moscow but also expands its fighter jet market.
During the same visit, the two sides reached an agreement for Washington to sell 31 MQ-9B unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) worth a total of $3 billion to New Delhi. These UAVs will be completed in India and include 15 SeaGuardian versions for the navy and 16 SkyGuardian versions (equally divided between the army and air force).
This is a long-range reconnaissance UAV, integrating multiple advanced radar and reconnaissance systems, and capable of carrying various weapons to attack warships and ground targets. Therefore, equipping India with the MQ-9B allows for wide-area surveillance at sea and on land. In recent times, the border region between India and China has remained tense, so SkyGuardian is considered to help New Delhi closely monitor Beijing's military movements in the border area. In addition, SeaGuardian can help India more closely monitor the Indian Ocean region, given China's recent frequent deployment of warships to this area.
Tejas fighter jet
Indian Ministry of Defence
The US and India are becoming increasingly close.
After a long period of strained US-India relations due to New Delhi's nuclear weapons development, relations between the two sides have gradually warmed in the last two decades in the face of China's rise and other regional challenges. In particular, in recent years, the US has increasingly supplied India with various types of military equipment. In fact, according to CNBC, since 2014, New Delhi has become a major arms customer of Washington.
These include a series of major arms contracts such as C17 military transport aircraft, P8 Poseidon anti-submarine aircraft, MH-60R naval combat helicopters, Apache combat helicopters, MK 45 naval guns, Harpoon anti-ship missiles, torpedoes, anti-tank missiles, and air defense systems…
Meeting with Prime Minister Modi, President Biden praised the new era in US-India relations.
Besides arms sales contracts, during Prime Minister Modi's recent visit, Washington and New Delhi also reached an agreement allowing US warships access to Indian bases for logistical support. Thus, members of the "Quad" group (US, Japan, Australia, and India) all have similar agreements through bilateral mechanisms such as "Access and Mutual Services Agreement" (ACSA) or "Logistics Assistance Agreement" (LEMOA). These two types of agreements are similar, allowing the militaries of participating countries to access each other's military bases, share logistics, transportation (including air transport), fuel, and communication systems. Therefore, with such bilateral agreements among members, the "Quad" can strengthen cooperation and coordinate military operations.
In an interview with Thanh Nien newspaper, Dr. Satoru Nagao (Hudson Institute, USA) assessed: "This US-India defense cooperation is an important step forward for the relationship between the two countries, especially for New Delhi's defense strategy. By reducing its dependence on Russia, India can strengthen cooperation with the remaining members of the 'Quad' group."
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