India, US on verge of finalising deal to jointly produce fighter jet engines: Report

One of the major discussions going to take place between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden during the former’s visit to Washington would be on the joint manufacturing of fighter jet engines.

According to Bloomberg, India and the US are close to signing a military deal that would allow them to jointly develop fighter jet engines.

The report states that the White House is on the verge of clearing the proposal from General Electric Co. (GE), the Massachusetts-based aerospace manufacturing giant, to produce the engines with state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. for the Tejas light-combat aircraft.

The jet engine agreement, which would require technology transfer from America, will need approval from the US Congress, which India hopes to tilt the scale in its favour on the backdrop of China’s rising assertiveness and growing relations between the two.

The production of GE engines is expected to boost India's fighter jet programme and its air force, whose fleet of rapidly ageing Russian fighters needs to be replaced.

The move is also expected to strengthen Modi's image as he looks at a third term in office in national elections next year. The PM will starthis first formal state visit on June 21. Biden will host him for a state banquet, and the Indian premiere will also address the US Congress.

India’s defence ministry to take up SeaGuardian drone deal

India’s Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) will also take up the deal to finalise SeaGuardian drone deal later today (Thursday).

Top defence ministry and military brass, including Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, will attend the meeting. Other 'Made in India' defence deals are also on the agenda of the meeting, defence officials told WION.

The procurement project will undergo "acceptance of necessity" (AoN) by DAC. Subsequently, a Letter of Request will be issued to the US administration, followed by their response through a Letter of Offer and Acceptance, which requires notification to the US Congress.

The US had asked India to show progress on the deal for as many as 30MQ-9B SeaGuardian (also called Reaper) drones made by General Atomics,two sourcestoldReuters.

India had earlier used two MQ 9B drones, borrowing from the US, after the border tensions with China flared in the summer of 2020, according to Bloomberg.

The development comes as National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and his US counterpart Jake Sullivan held a bilateral meeting in Delhi on Wednesday.

Sullivan is on a two-day trip to India at the invitation of Doval.

The drones' deal could not take off soon as it remained stuck due to bureaucratic red tape for years.

Moreover, the two countries are also expected to discuss jointly building the eight-wheeled armoured personnel carrier — Stryker — in India.

(With inputs from agencies

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