The Pentagon said on Thursday (30) that Indian and US defense relations are deepening.
“You’ve seen a deepening of cooperation and ties between our militaries. The secretary has hosted delegations from India here in the Pentagon and, of course, travelled overseas to meet with his counterparts. So, you’ve certainly seen a growing and deepening partnership and our militaries engaged in exercises,” the Pentagon’s Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters at a news conference.
“I don’t have that full list of commitments and, you know, announcements that we made during the Secretary’s trip. But one of the things that he announced there was a production facility in India. So you’re seeing our military partnership grow and deepen, and that’s something that we’re extremely proud of,” Singh said.
To handle the Indo-Pacific region, strengthening of India’s military capabilities is important and for that, the two nations can work together as mentioned by US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to the lawmakers last month.
He said the militaries of the US and India were accelerating operational activities to boost maritime security in the Indian Ocean.
In 2023, the US and India launched INDUS-X and completed a roadmap for US-India Defense Industrial Cooperation to enhance bilateral defense industrial cooperation and innovation.
The proposed deal between GE Aerospace and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited for domestic Indian production of the F-414 jet engines exemplifies this approach.
(With inputs from PTI)
