New Delhi: From fighter jets and armoured combat vehicles to aero-engines and missiles, the Trump administration is set to pressurize India to further crank up military sales from the US, which already stands at well over $25 billion just since 2007.
President Donald Trump’s transactional approach was clearly evident in his phone conversation with PM Modi on Monday, where he called upon India to increase its procurement of US-origin weapon systems and platforms.
“India will have to negotiate carefully with the new Trump administration. US military technology is certainly top-notch, but it will have to dovetail into our policy of `Make in India’ with foreign collaboration at a reasonable cost. India wants co-development and co-production instead of just outright purchases,” a senior official said.
Trump’s push comes barely four months after India inked the mega $3.3 billion contract with the US govt for 31 weaponized MQ-9B `Predator’ remotely piloted aircraft, along with another $520 million contract with drone-manufacturer General Atomics to set up an MRO facility here.
But that was during the last days of the Biden administration. Trump will want his own pound of flesh in terms of big deals, apart of course from strategic convergence on several fronts.
There are, of course, the ongoing techno-commercial negotiations, which began last month, for co-production of the American General Electric F414-INS6 aero-engines with Hindustan Aeronautics in India for Tejas Mark-II fighters. The deal, which involves 80% transfer of technology of engine parts of the total value, will cost around $1.5 billion.
The US has also been hard-selling joint manufacture of the latest generation of Stryker armoured infantry combat vehicles (ICVs) as part of the bilateral defence-industrial cooperation roadmap, which was finalized in June 2023.
With the Army projecting a requirement for 527 wheeled ICVs as part of its much bigger plan for mechanized infantry units, the US quietly demonstrated the mobility and firepower of the eight-wheeled Stryker, with the Javelin anti-tank guided missiles, in high-altitude Ladakh in Sept, amid some criticism of indigenous options being ignored in the process.
The US is also eyeing IAF’s long-standing quest for 114 new multi-role fighter aircraft (MRFA) to be manufactured in India, at an initial estimate of Rs 1.25 lakh crore, with foreign collaboration. With the defence ministry now working to break the logjam over the project, the US will be showcasing its F-16 and the fifth-generation F-35 fighters at the Aero-India in Bengaluru from Feb 10 to 14.
There is also India’s planned purchase of high-end technical equipment and follow-on support worth $1.1 billion for the 24 submarine-hunting MH-60R Seahawk helicopters already being inducted into the Navy under a $2.13 billion contract inked with the US in Feb 2020.
The US would like India to also buy another six P-8I long-range maritime patrol aircraft to add to the 12 such planes packed with weapons and sensors it has already acquired for $3.2 billion earlier.
