Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden on Saturday acknowledged the significant progress made under the US-India Defense Industrial Cooperation Roadmap. During their bilateral meeting in Delaware, both leaders expressed their commitment to deepening the India-US military partnership and enhancing interoperability to uphold a “free and open Indo-Pacific.”
Highlighting advancements in emerging areas such as space and cybersecurity, PM Modi and President Biden also welcomed progress toward India’s procurement of 31 General Atomics MQ-9B drones, which will enhance India’s intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities across various domains.
According to a Joint Fact Sheet released by the White House, the two leaders recognized the ongoing collaboration to advance key co-production agreements for jet engines, munitions, and ground mobility systems, marking notable progress under the Defense Industrial Cooperation Roadmap.
The bilateral meeting took place on the sidelines of the Quad Leaders’ Summit. Both leaders praised efforts to expand defense industrial partnerships, including the collaboration between Liquid Robotics and Sagar Defence Engineering for developing unmanned surface vehicle systems aimed at strengthening undersea and maritime domain awareness.
Additionally, the conclusion of the Security of Supply Arrangement (SOSA), which enhances the mutual supply of defense goods and services, was lauded by both sides. Prime Minister Modi and the US President committed to further aligning their respective defense procurement systems to enable more streamlined exchanges of defense goods and services.
The American president welcomed India’s decision to apply a uniform Goods and Services Tax (GST) of 5% on the maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) sector, simplifying the tax structure and fostering a stronger MRO ecosystem in India. The leaders also welcomed efforts from US industry to bolster India’s MRO capabilities, particularly for aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicle repairs.
Both leaders applauded the recently signed teaming agreement between Lockheed Martin and Tata Advanced Systems Limited, which will establish a new MRO facility in India for C-130J Super Hercules aircraft, strengthening defense cooperation and readiness for India and its global partners.
The meeting underscored growing defense innovation collaboration, facilitated by the India-US Defense Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS-X) initiative launched in 2023. The leaders underlined the progress achieved during the third INDUS-X Summit held in Silicon Valley earlier this month, along with the enhanced collaboration between the Indian Ministry of Defence’s Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) and the US Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU).
Looking ahead, the two reaffirmed their shared commitment to deepening military cooperation and interoperability. They acknowledged India’s hosting of the “largest and most complex” bilateral, tri-service exercise to date, TIGER TRIUMPH, in March 2024. The inclusion of new technologies such as the Javelin and Stryker systems during the ongoing YUDH ABHYAS exercise was also recognized as a significant step.
The leaders anticipated further collaboration in space and cyber domains, with plans for a November 2024 bilateral cyber engagement focused on threat information sharing, cybersecurity training, and mitigating vulnerabilities in critical sectors like energy and telecommunications.
PM Modi and President Biden welcomed the outcomes of the second US-India Advanced Domains Defence Dialogue, which included the first-ever bilateral defense space table-top exercise, signaling continued progress in advanced defense cooperation.