New Delhi: The US expressed hope that major pending American arms deals with India would be finalised and that the two countries would formally sign the new 10-year Framework for the ‘US-India Major Defense Partnership.’
This was after US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth held a meeting Tuesday night with External Affairs Minister Jaishankar at the Pentagon.
The new defence partnership would not only focus on procurement of weapon systems but also include co-production arrangements for Javelin anti-tank guided missile and Stryker armoured combat vehicles.
A procurement deal for six additional P-8I maritime patrol aircraft between India and US is also nearing completion which would further strengthen India’s surveillance and anti-submarine warfare capabilities in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
India inducted its first P-8I in 2013 after signing a $2.1 billion deal with the US in 2009 for eight aircraft. A follow-on order for four more was placed in 2016, with the final aircraft delivered in 2021.
The upcoming ten-year agreement follows previous defence frameworks signed first in June 2005 by then Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee and US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and later renewed in June 2015 by then Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar and U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter.
“The United States is very pleased with the successful integration of many US defense items into India’s inventory,” Hegseth said during his meeting with Jaishankar. “And building on this progress, we hope we can complete several major pending US defense sales to India, expand our shared defense industrial cooperation and co-production efforts, strengthen interoperability … between our forces, and then formally sign a new 10-year Framework for the US-India Major Defense Partnership … which we hope to do very soon.”
Hegseth also added that both countries recognised shared security challenges in the region and were capable of responding to them jointly. “Almost right at the beginning of the administration, President Trump and Prime Minister Shri Modi set a strong foundation for our relationship, which we’re building on here today: productive, pragmatic and realistic… and our nations boast a rich and growing history of cooperation driven by a shared commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific,” he added.
Jaishankar pointed to the growing significance of defence ties between the two nations. “We believe that our defence partnership is today truly one of the most consequential pillars of the relationship. It’s not built merely on shared interests, but we believe in really deepening convergence and of capabilities, of responsibilities,” he said. “And what we do in the Indo-Pacific, we believe, is absolutely crucial to its strategic stability.”
Hegseth further underlined US efforts to equip India with the capabilities needed to address threats in the Indo-Pacific.
Incidentally, ahead of the Quad Foreign Ministers Meeting in Washington, the four Quad members had launched their first-ever joint Coast Guard-led at-sea observer mission on Monday aimed at improving interoperability and promoting maritime safety in the Indo-Pacific.
The mission adds a new layer to QUAD maritime cooperation, shifting from conventional naval exercises toward coast guard coordination. It builds upon established defence cooperation among the members, such as the annual Malabar naval drills.
Beijing has consistently criticised the Quad, accusing the group of seeking to contain its influence and of “inciting confrontation.”
Earlier the same day, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh had also held a separate telephonic conversation with Hegseth, urging the US to expedite delivery of the GE F404 engines for the Tejas Mk1A fighter which has been delayed by over two years.
Singh also pressed for faster finalisation of an agreement for joint production of F414 engines by GE and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). These engines are intended for the Tejas Mk2 and the initial version of India’s indigenously developed fifth-generation Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA).
In February, when he met PM Modi, Trump had publicly endorsed the potential sale of F-35 fifth-generation stealth fighters to India. However, the joint statement made no mention of the aircraft. “The leaders pledged to accelerate defense technology cooperation across space, air defense, missile, maritime and undersea technologies, with the US announcing a review of its policy on releasing fifth generation fighters and undersea systems to India,” it said.
Currently, India operates several US-origin platforms such as the Lockheed Martin C‑130J Super Hercules, Boeing’s C‑17 Globemaster III, P‑8I Poseidon maritime aircraft, AH‑64E Apache attack helicopters and CH‑47F Chinook heavy-lift helicopters, as well as Harpoon anti-ship missiles.
Additionally, India operates M777 ultra-light howitzers, primarily along the Line of Actual Control (LAC), and has placed orders for 31 MQ‑9B Reaper (Sea Guardian/Sky Guardian) armed HALE UAVs developed by General Atomics.
(Edited by Tony Rai)