India, US look forward to working together: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh

PTI, Aug 25, 2024, 10:42 AM IST

Washington: India and the US look forward to working together and benefiting from each other’s experiences, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has said, as he visited a top American naval surface warfare facility in Maryland.

Singh is in the US on a four-day official visit to further boost the comprehensive global strategic partnership between the US and India.

“Visited the Naval Surface Warfare Centre at Carderock and witnessed the pathbreaking experiments at the facility,” Singh said in a post on X.

“India and the US look forward to work together and benefit from each other’s experiences,” he wrote after he visited the top American naval facility on Saturday.

Earlier during the visit, Singh met the US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin.

Austin praised the momentum behind the US-India relationship during the meeting with Singh.

He noted the countries’ increased cooperation on a range of defence issues, including efforts to strengthen critical supply chains and interoperability between their militaries.

“We share a vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific, and our defence cooperation continues to grow stronger and stronger,” Austin said.

“We’re expanding our defence industrial ties and working to co-produce more capabilities and strengthen supply chain resilience,” he said.

He said that the countries have increased operational cooperation across all domains and highlighted India’s participation in this summer’s Rim of the Pacific, a large-scale exercise led by the US Navy in Hawaii that brought together 29 partner nations.

The Indian navy remains an important security provider in the Indian Ocean, Austin said.

“Indian sailors have helped mariners in distress and defended global commerce. So, we are committed to deepening naval cooperation, to doing more together with unmanned technology, and to strengthening undersea domain awareness,” he said.

Singh said the growing cooperation covers “all areas of human endeavour.” The defence minister noted the robust people-to-people ties, shared democratic values, and the convergence of interests between the US and India on a range of issues.

Austin and Singh’s meeting came a day after the countries finalised an agreement aimed at mitigating unanticipated supply chain issues to meet national security needs.

Under the non-binding “security of supply” arrangement, the United States and India have agreed to provide priority support for goods and services that promote national defence.

“This security of supply arrangement represents a pivotal moment in the US-India major defence partner relationship and will be a key factor in strengthening the US-India Defense Technology and Trade Initiative,” Vic Ramdass, principal secretary of defence of the industrial base policy, said in a statement.

“I look forward to [the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment] hosting the next (US-India Defense Technology and Trade Initiative) meeting this fall to deepen cooperation between our respective defence industrial bases and pursue bilateral co-development, co-production and co-sustainment initiatives,” Ramdass said.

Meanwhile, Secretary of State Antony Blinken has approved a possible Foreign Military Sale to India of Anti-Submarine Warfare Sonobuoys and related equipment for an estimated cost of USD 52.8 million.

The Defence Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale on Friday.

The Government of India had requested to buy AN/SSQ-53G High Altitude Anti-Submarine Warfare (HAASW) sonobuoys; AN/SSQ-62F HAASW sonobuoys; AN/SSQ-36 sonobuoys; technical and publications and data documentation; US Government and contractor engineering and technical support and other related elements of logistics and program services and support, the agency said in a statement.

This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by helping to strengthen the United States-India strategic relationship, the statement said.

It will help in improving the security of a major defence partner which continues to be an important force for political stability, peace, and economic progress in the Indo-Pacific and South Asia regions, it said.

The proposed sale will improve India’s capability to meet current and future threats by enhancing its capacity to conduct anti-submarine warfare operations from its MH-60R helicopters, it added.

India will have no difficulty absorbing this equipment into its armed forces.

The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region.

The principal contractor(s) will be Sparton Corporation, located in De Leon Springs, FL, or Undersea Sensor Systems Inc. (USSI), located in Columbia City or a combination of both.

There are no known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale.

The implementation of this proposed sale will not require the assignment of any additional US government or contractor representatives to India.

There will be no adverse impact on US defence readiness as a result of this proposed sale, the statement said.