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Home : Media : News : News Article View

# India to Push Joint Weapons Development during US Visit 

By Staff writerAsia Pacific Rim

                NEW DELHI  –              
India’s leader will seek joint development of high-tech weaponry when he visits the White House on Sept. 30, in a shift from the country’s “buy and supply” relationship with the US, an Indian official said.

New Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also discuss greater participation of US and Indian defense companies when he visits with US President Barack Obama, said the official with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

Defense analysts here say the Modi government will not give big-ticket weaponry orders to the US on a government-to-government basis, as was done by the previous United Progressive Alliance government. Instead, Modi will push for greater participation by US defense companies in forging partnerships with domestic defense companies to boost the domestic defense industry.

In the past decade, India has bought US $10 billion in weapons from the United States, mostly through foreign military sales.

“After the Apache helicopters and additional C-17 transport aircraft, a more selective policy of purchases will be followed with joint development desired in more advanced technology systems, rather than offers to refine relatively low-tech [items such as] Javelin anti-tank missiles,” said Bharat Karnad, professor of national security studies at the Centre for Policy Research.

Rajeswari Pillai Rajagopalan, senior fellow in security studies with the Observer Research Foundation, is hopeful that the relationship between India and US will shift toward joint development.

“By and large, the US has been a supplier, but this is something that will undergo a change. There is interest on both sides to change the nature of transactions from a mere supplier to jointly develop systems and platforms,” he said.

The reinvigorated Defense Trade and Technology Initiative (DTTI), the body responsible for working out areas of joint development in defense, has several weapon projects on the table, including joint development of a new generation of Javelin missiles, MH-60R helicopters and drones. This initiative will be strengthened during the Modi talks, the MEA official said.

### Future of Indo-US Ties

The Modi government is in a better place to work these deals with Washington, since it has a clear majority in Parliament and a liberal economic approach, analysts said.

“The Bharatiya Janata Party-led government is better inclined to increase defense cooperation with the United States, thus attempts to intensify the same are likely to be enhanced particularly in terms of joint training exercises with possibility of a logistics support agreement in some form in the future,” said retired Indian Army Brig. Gen. Rahul Bhonsle, a defense analyst.

A source in the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) said an effort over the past four years to tie up with Raytheon to jointly develop a ballistic missile defense system has not come to fruition because it involved transfer of high technology, the source added.

So far, DRDO and the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency have agreed only to joint development of explosive detection systems and C4I systems. The final agreement for these projects have yet to be inked, the source added.

No fresh big-ticket weapon deals are expected during Modi’s visit, a Defence Ministry source said.

Last month, the MoD cleared the purchase of 22 Apache attack helicopters worth $1.4 billion and 15 Chinook heavy-lift helicopters worth $1 billion, but the financial clearance for these two deals had not been given as of Sept. 24.

The contract to purchase 145 M777 ultralight howitzers worth $680 million has been awaiting signing since 2010. The MoD source added, however, that the joint development of the Javelin missiles is unlikely to be inked during Modi’s visit

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