New Delhi: Away from the spotlight, India and the US have been quietly working out joint partnerships in the field of defence, space and artificial intelligence, all of which came up for discussion during American National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan’s visit to New Delhi.
State-run Bharat Dynamics Ltd is in discussion with American private firm Ultra Maritime for the co-production of US sonobuoys in India to boost anti-submarine warfare capabilities.
Sonobuoys—expendable buoys for underwater acoustic research—play a crucial role in anti-submarine warfare, a key focus area for India and the US as China operates one of the largest fleets in the world with a strong push in the Indian Ocean Region.
American firm General Atomics and Indian start-up 114ai are jointly working on an AI-enabled multi-domain situational awareness product to support joint all-domain command and control.
The US and India are also working on the co-production of Stryker-armoured vehicles and specialised munitions.
These programmes found mention in a factsheet released by the White House Tuesday, following Sullivan’s visit, during which he held delegation-level talks with his Indian counterpart, Ajit Doval.
Sullivan also met with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The two national security leaders expressed their confidence that the bridges built across the governments, industry, and academia would endure and reflect on the significant achievements driven across every dimension of the technological enterprise—“from the seabed to the stars, and beyond”.
In his address at IIT Delhi Monday, Sullivan also spoke about programmes that are in the works.
“The Biden administration has approved technology proposals that would enable India to become the first global producer of Stryker combat vehicles, a leading producer of advanced munitions systems, and the first foreign producer of cutting-edge maritime systems,” he said.
Sullivan added, “And even more work is underway—in aviation, sensing, undersea—that will come to fruition soon.”
Semiconductors, AI investments and more
The factsheet released Tuesday gives more insights into programmes being pursued. It mentions that both sides were in talks over advancing a strategic semiconductor partnership between the U.S. Space Force and 3rdiTech to establish a compound semiconductor fabrication plant in India. This will manufacture infrared, gallium nitride, and silicon carbide semiconductors that will be used in national security-relevant platforms.
This, it said, includes favourably reviewing a technical assistance agreement and export licences to promote technology transfers.
Both sides are also working on a government-to-government framework for promoting reciprocal investments in AI technology and aligning protections around the diffusion of AI technology.
Both NSAs also welcomed India’s acquisition of the MQ-9B platforms, the possible co-production of land warfare systems, and progress on other joint initiatives outlined in the Roadmap for US-India Defense Industrial Cooperation.
(Edited by Tikli Basu)