Facts for Prelims (FFP)
Source: ET
Context: An agreement over joint manufacturing of GE F414 jet engines for Navy fighter aircraft by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and General Electric (GE) is among the early harvest of closer India-US defence ties that may remove restrictions on armaments sales and technology transfer.
- This agreement involves a 100% transfer of technology
Other agreements:
- Initiate negotiations for a ‘Security of Supply’ (SoS) arrangement and a ‘Reciprocal Defence Procurement’ (RDP)
- SoS allows for priority delivery for contracts from companies in either country
- India-U.S. agreed to establish Defence Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS-X), a new initiative to advance cutting-edge technology cooperation.
- The US acknowledged India’s leadership role in Quad Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness Initiative (IPMDA) (A US-led initiative to promote a free and open Pacific)
Significance:
- For India: India’s previous attempt to develop an indigenous engine, the Kaveri project, failed to meet technical requirements. The new deal with the US is a crucial step towards building India’s own military-industrial complex in line with the goal of Atmanirbhar’s defence.
- For the USA: The US regards India as a strategic counterweight to China in the Indo-Pacific. Also, it is seeking resilience in defence production through collaboration with its partner countries, like India.
India-US four foundational defence agreements:
- GSOMIA, 2002 on military information exchange
- LEMOA, 2016 to use each other’s military base
- COMCASA, 2018 for interoperability between two militaries and the sale of high-end technology to India
- BECA, 2020 to share high-end military technology, logistics and geospatial maps
