Modi-Biden meet pushes defence industrial partnership

India and US have expanded defence industrial partnerships, with Liquid Robotics, a company of Boeing, and Sagar Defence Engineering, coming together for the co-development and co-production of unmanned surface vehicle systems that will strengthen undersea and maritime domain awareness. Pune-based Sagar Defence Engineering is already working in unmanned marine surface vehicle domain for Indian armed forces. The company was recently awarded a contract by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the Indian Navy to develop an underwater-launched unmanned aerial vehicle (ULUAV).

At PM Narendra Modi’s talks with US President Biden on Saturday in Delaware, the two sides noted the remarkable progress under the US-India Defence Industrial Cooperation Roadmap, including ongoing collaboration to advance priority co-production arrangements for GE F-414 jet engines to power LCA Mk-2, munitions, and Stryker ground mobility systems.

Both the countries have concluded procurement of 31 General Atomics’ MQ-9B remotely piloted aircraft, of which Indian Navy will get 15 naval versions of ‘Sea Guardian’ while Indian Army and Indian Air Force will receive 8 ‘Sky Guardians’ each, and their associated equipment. It will enhance the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities of India’s armed forces across all domains, a joint fact sheet released by the two sides stated.

The GE, however, has come up with new timelines of November for supply of GE F-404 engines to power LCA Mk-1A after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh took the issue of prolonged delay with the US during his recent engagements.

Following talks with Modi, President Biden welcomed India’s decision to set a uniform Goods and Services Tax (GST) of 5 per cent, brought down from 18 per cent since 2020, on the maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) sector, including on all aircraft and aircraft engine parts thereby simplifying the tax structure and paving the way for building a strong ecosystem for MRO services in India, the statement read.

Earlier this month tie up between Lockheed Martin and Tata Advanced Systems Limited for furthering business opportunities out of tactical airlifter C-130J Super Hercules already in use by the IAF was also hailed by Modi and Biden during the meeting. Through this framework, an MRO facility will come up to support IAF’s existing fleet of 12 C130Js and other global Super Hercules fleets. “This marks a significant step in US-India defence and aerospace cooperation and reflects the two sides’ deepening strategic and technology partnership ties,” observed the joint fact sheet.

The US industry too has committed to push India’s MRO capabilities, including for the repair of aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles.