‘Beyond the Indo-Pacific, the current scale of US investment in India is a strong argument for introducing wider industrial cooperation between Indian and US companies in the defense sector’ | Photo Credit: AP
Over the past few years, US-India relations have gained incredible momentum, driven primarily by their defense ties. United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin visits India from June 4-5 to strengthen key defense partnership and advance cooperation in critical domains. Notably, his visit led to an agreement on a road map for defense industrial cooperation, which was announced US-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET) agreement (announced in May 2022) and the inaugural meeting of which was held in January this year. The road map envisages promoting defense manufacturing in India through greater technical cooperation. While the objectives complement India’s own self-reliance mission and its desire to reduce import dependence, it potentially repositions the US in the broader context of the US-India strategic relationship.
The purpose of the visit was to have two important milestones: technological innovation and growing military cooperation. One of the most important steps taken during the visit was to strengthen bilateral defense ties by drawing up a road map to boost cooperation in the defense industry. The road map aims to accelerate significant co-development and co-production initiatives while fostering stronger ties between the defense sectors of the two countries.
A new initiative, Indus-X was launched, which is meant to give a new impetus to the defense innovation relationship between the two countries. This is based on the US-India bilateral Space Situational Awareness Arrangement signed in 2022, which promises to enhance information-sharing and cooperation in the space sector. In addition, new areas in defense space exchange have been identified based on collaboration between the US Space Command and India’s Defense Space Agency.
With four foundational agreements signed with the US, India’s ‘Major Defense Partner’ (MDP) status now allows for technology exchanges and more frequent collaboration. These have not only allowed India to share sensitive technologies without becoming an ally, but have also proved to be effective mechanisms to prevent backsliding due to procedural difficulties or structural differences.
Indo-Pacific imperative
During the 2+2 ministerial dialogue in April 2022, the US Secretary of Defense referred to the US-India defense partnership in the Indo-Pacific region as a cornerstone of their engagement. He outlined the broad spectrum in the Indo-Pacific which includes coercive actions by the People’s Republic of China; Russia’s aggressive actions towards Ukraine are aimed at forcibly redrawing borders and undermining national sovereignty; International issues like terrorism and climate change. The joint threat assessment by India and the US in the region points to China as a common and most specific challenger. As stated in China’s Military Power Report 2022 brought out by the US, the People’s Liberation Army Navy is the largest navy in the world by the number of ships. With the Indo-Pacific region becoming more disputed, it is anticipated that China’s subsurface presence is likely to increase in the Indian and Pacific oceans.
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Beyond the Indo-Pacific, a strong argument for introducing wider industrial cooperation between Indian and American companies in the defense sector is the current scale of US investment in India. Behind this is the almost declaratory endorsement by the US government of encouraging its companies to support India’s defense modernisation. In the long run, this could lead to at least three major trends under the umbrella of US-India defense cooperation: nurturing and developing an ecosystem of joint ventures between the companies; America’s larger share in Indian defense manufacturing continues to grow, and the two sides are removing existing barriers to co-development and co-production. American companies led by Boeing, Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems, Honeywell Aerospace, Raytheon, Textron and others partner in a number of defense manufacturing activities with Indian companies, most prominently Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and the Tata Group. These are likely to be complemented by connecting defense start-ups of the two countries through the ‘innovation bridge’ announced in the ICET agreement.
The Defense Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI) has often been criticized for being too ambitious and caught in a vortex of bureaucratic resistance, technicalities related to sensitive technology transfers, and structural differences in the way the Indo-US defense ecosystem functions. However, recent moves promise to jumpstart DTTI by providing a distinctive impetus to co-production and co-development in the defense sector. A standout in this regard has been the upgrade of India-US ties to a strategic partnership with the ICET agreement.
The US Defense Secretary’s visit has set the ground for Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official state visit to the US on June 22, which is likely to see some big announcements, especially in the area of defense cooperation. The sky seems to be the limit in the emerging defense partnership between the world’s two leading democracies.
Harsh V. Pant is Vice President of Studies at the Observer Research Foundation (ORF), New Delhi. Vivek Mishra is a Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation