US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to Commence Talks with Rajnath Singh During his two-day visit
Before PM Modi’s visit scheduled on June 22nd, the US defense secretary Lloyd Austin is visiting India to initiate talks with Indian defense minister Rajnath Singh.
Lloyd Austin, the US Defense Secretary, has arrived in India for a two-day visit to explore critical ways of strengthening bilateral defense cooperation. They aim to reinforce India-US bilateral ties in areas of transfer of critical technologies for the co-development of military hardware.
Two weeks ahead of Mr. Austin’s trip is set for Indian Prime Minister Modi’s trip to Washington, where both nations will present their initiatives in expanding the global partnership of US-India. Mr. Austin expressed his intention to meet with key leaders in India during the visit to initiate talks regarding Major Defence Partnership. He also added that both India and the US hold a shared vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific.
Meeting with Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Mr. Austin will be discussing General Electric’s proposal in sharing technology with India for fighter jet engines and New Delhi’s planning for the procurement of 30 MQ- 9B armed drones with an estimated cost of three billion USD. It will be facilitated by the US defense major General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc besides the protruding issues.
India is aiming for an efficient manufacturing of jet engines in India under the provided framework of technology transfer, in powering its fighter aircraft. The nation has already risen to the fame of a major defense partner for the US, opening up new opportunities to share critical military equipment and technology.
Mr. Austin has arrived from Singapore, marking his second visit to India post-March 2021. While addressing the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, he mentioned the crucial partnership of India with the US, especially with the initiative on critical and emerging technology (iCET) in exploring and co-developing robust key defense platforms.
