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India Defence Online, New Delhi – The visit of US President Barack Obama to India has positively affected the Indo-US defence ties and both countries are on the verge of finalising several trade pacts as well. As per the White House statement, India and the US have finalised agreements on two lucrative defence deals worth nearly $5 billion.
Firstly, US aviation major Boeing and the Indian Air Force (IAF) have reached a preliminary agreement on the purchase of ten C-17 Globemaster III military transport aircraft. The second major development is that India has also declared the lowest bidder and selected the US-based General Electric Company for a contract to provide the Indian Aeronautical Development Agency with 107 F414 engines to be installed on the indigenous Tejas light combat aircraft (LCA). The defence deal related to ten C-17 Globemaster III military transport aircraft is valued at approximately $4.1 billion and the deal for General Electric engines for Tejas LCA is around $820 million.
The $4.1-billion for ten C-17 Globemaster-III giant strategic airlift aircraft is the biggest Indo-US defence deal and is expected to get even bigger since India may well order another six C-17s after the first ten aircraft. IAF chief Air Chief Marshal P V Naik has indicated that after evaluating the performance of the ten C-17s, a decision to order another six will be taken.
As for the C-17 giant airlift aircraft, they are capable of carrying a payload of 164,900 pounds after taking off from a mere 7,000-feet airstrip. These four-engine aircraft, manufactured by Boeing, can transport tanks and combat-ready troops over 2,400 nautical miles. The rugged C-17s can even land at small forward airbases on semi-prepared runways and will go a long way in securing India’s strategic interest as well as threats from neighbouring countries. Along with the C-17s, India wants five spare engines and 10 AN/ALE counter-measure dispensing systems. India is buying the C-17 Globemasters under the US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programme.
Among other significant developments during the US President’s visit to India has been the US decision to take the state-owned Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and four of its subsidiaries and the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and its subsidiaries off its Entities List. Even the state-owned Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) with its four subsidiaries has been lifted from the Entities List. Since BDL is related to missile technology activities, the removal of BDL from the Entities List suggests greater Indo-US cooperation on missile technology.
As for India, the current visit of the US President is expected to not only increase bi-lateral trade and defence cooperation but also an assurance and support from the US for India’s membership to global non-proliferation regimes like Wassenaar Arrangement, the Australia Group and the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG). Besides, India will be getting out of the Country Classification list and will not be clubbed with Pakistan and North Korea but move up to the group consisting of US allies like Japan and UK. This will help India to access critical technology, software and sensitive equipment from all countries.
The trade and investment deals signed during the current visit of the US President are important to take the Indo-US partnership to a new level. Besides, India has acknowledged the fact that the US is a key partner in the defence arena because it fulfils developmental goals and aspirations. While the US has already ousted Russia to be become the leading exporter of defence wares to India, US companies have bagged over 40 per cent of the recent defence deals in India. According to the KPMG-American Chamber of Commerce report on the Indian Defence sector, Boeing, Lockheed Martin and GE Aviation totally won contracts worth around $3.75 billion among 13 overseas companies that won different orders from the Indian Government.
Indian defence news and strategic intelligence
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