India-US Join Hands To Co-Produce Armoured Vehicles, Drones Amid China Threat

New Delhi: India and the US have agreed to co-produce armoured infantry vehicles as a key component of their defence industrial cooperation, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin announced on Friday. He said the two sides have set an ambitious agenda to deepen their strategic partnership in the face of China’s growing military aggression. Austin was speaking to a select group of journalists after the ‘2+2’ ministerial dialogue, where he said the US is working to expedite the delivery of MQ-9B drones to India.

A joint statement on the ‘2+2’ dialogue said India and the US are creating new liaison positions to enhance communication and collaboration between their armed forces. The two countries are also finalising a Security of Supply Arrangement (SOSA) that will integrate their defence industrial ecosystems and boost supply chain resilience, the statement said.

“Today, we agreed to move forward with the co-production of armoured infantry vehicles. We also discussed steps that we can take to strengthen our supply chain security and integrate the provision of goods and services from US and Indian firms,” Austin said.

He called the armoured vehicle project “extremely important”.

Austin was accompanied by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, while the Indian side was led by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

The joint statement said the ministers reaffirmed the ‘Roadmap for Defence Industrial Cooperation’ as a catalyst for strengthening India’s capabilities and facilitating technology-sharing.

It said the ministers welcomed the start of negotiations for a commercial agreement between General Electric (GE) Aerospace and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to manufacture GE F-414 jet engines in India.

India plans to buy 31 MQ-9B armed drones from the US for over USD 3 billion to enhance its surveillance capabilities along the border with China and in the Indian Ocean region.

“Looking ahead, the ministers welcomed the progress achieved towards co-production and co-development of defence systems, noting their mutual interest to co-develop and co-produce ground mobility systems, as they bring the two countries’ respective defence sectors closer together while enhancing Indian capabilities,” the statement said.

Austin said both sides discussed the rising security challenges posed by China.

“We are working together on a number of things going forward. We have a common goal, a common view of the Indo-Pacific, and that is that the Indo-Pacific should remain free and open and that we should be able to sail in the international seas and fly international airspace,” he said.

He also said the US-India relationship is not just based on China or the challenge that China presents.

“It’s based upon, again, shared values…We have talked about a number of things to include not only military cooperation, but scientific cooperation, space cooperation, and those kinds of things,” he said.

“We are stepping up US-Indian defence activities across multiple domains from space to undersea. And we are identifying new areas where we can work together to support each other’s logistical needs. And we’re making our exercises increasingly complex and realistic,” he said.

The joint statement said the ministers praised the ongoing advances in interoperability, noting that India and the US are setting up new liaison positions to facilitate seamless communication and cooperation between their armed forces.

“The ministers welcomed India’s full membership of the multinational Combined Maritime Forces (CMF), headquartered in Bahrain,” it said.

It said the ministers welcomed further discussions to maximize the shared benefits of the Logistics and Exchange Memorandum Agreement (LEMOA) and identify reciprocal steps.