Rajnath Singh, the Defence Minister (Raksha Mantri) visited the US from August 22-26, 24. The visit proved to be significant and pathbreaking in more ways than one. In a quiet and dignified manner, as is the working style of the Hon’ble RM, the visit achieved a lot for India without much optics. The outcome and follow up actions of the visit are going to shape the trajectory of Indo-US Defence Relations under Modi 3.0 government.
The timing of the visit is also significant. After the visit of US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin’s visit to India in November last year for the 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue in Delhi, this particular visit has special significance. The visit in November last year happened after the Israel-Hamas conflict started in October 23. The current visit happened almost simultaneously with the visit of Prime Minister Modi to Poland and Ukraine. Clearly, the backdrop of two major conflicts of Russia-Ukraine War and Israel-Hamas conflict would have influenced the talks and discussions. The 2+2 meetings signify participation of respective Defence Ministry and Foreign Ministry officials for enhancing the scope of politico-military diplomacy.
It is also important to understand the shift in our relations with the US once Prime Minister Modi came to power in 2014. Mr. Modi reoriented the foreign affairs and immediately put a focus on simultaneous actions at our immediate neighbourhood, along with regional cooperation and global affairs. Right after the visit of PM Modi to US on 29-30 September 2014 when Barack Obama was the US President, the Indo-US Relations have been on higher growth trajectory, with particular focus on mutual defence cooperation.
The defence relations between the two nations have been given impetus in three areas. First is cooperation in regional and global security affairs, second is institutionalised engagement between the armed forces and third is cooperation in defence technology and industry. In the first two areas, the cooperation has reached many milestones and a lot has been achieved. But in defence technology field, the progress has not been up to the expectations. The current visit was aimed at strengthening the defence technology cooperation between the two nations.
After the Indo-Soviet Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Cooperation of 1971, India was largely dependent on military hardware from the erstwhile USSR. It was replaced by the Treaty of Indo-Russian Friendship and Cooperation in 1993, after Soviet Union was dissolved. India was importing almost 85% of defence hardware and equipment from the erstwhile Soviet Union and Russia. With little indigenisation, the situation continued till the beginning of this century. During the regime of PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee, US had imposed sanctions on India after the Pokhran nuclear tests in May 1998. The Indo-US relations improved a bit during the during the full term of PM Vajpayee from 1999-2004. In fact, it was the 9/11 terror attacks in the US in 2001 that brought India and US closer in their fight against terrorism and eventually towards more defence cooperation. I recall taking an American team of officers to our famous Counter Insurgency and Jungle Warfare (CIJW) School located in Mizoram in early 2002 for inputs on how India fights insurgency and terrorism.
While the Russian military hardware is still more than 60 per cent of our total defence imports, Modi government has given impetus to self-reliance in defence right from the first term in 2014. It was a slow process in the Modi 1.0 government. But two major initiatives of the Modi 2.0 government have enabled the growth of defence industry in the country. In October 2021, Ministry of Defence converted Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) into seven 100 per cent Government owned corporate entities. Before this, OFB was largely a sick enterprise with little contribution in manufacturing world class arms, ammunition and equipment. Just in less than three years, the DPSUs are already in profit. Second major reform was to encourage the participation of the private industry. The private companies have significantly contributed towards defence production in the last five years. Indian private companies have manufactured armament and equipment matching global standards and these companies already account for about 25 per cent of the total defence production, with major chunk going in the exports.
India went in for major defence deals with US when it agreed to provide the latest transport and maritime aircraft. US finally delivered best technology in the form of C-130J Super Hercules, C-17 Globemaster and P-81 Poseidon aircraft, best helicopters in the form of CH-47F Chinooks, MH-60R Seahawks and AH-64E Apache. Harpoon anti-ship missiles and M777 Howitzers are also with us now. In an unprecedented move, Indian Army procured 72,400 SIG-716 assault rifles from Sig Sauer of the US. This weapon is used by the NATO forces and reflects our growing proximity to the security affairs globally. After the visit of the RM, the MOD signed a repeat order of 73,000 more assault rifles to be delivered by the end of 2025. Eventually India plans to manufacture the assault rifles with transfer of technology.
During the current visit, another milestone was reached when India and US signed the Security of Supply Agreement (SoSA). Under this deal, India and US agree to provide reciprocal priority support for goods and services that promote national defence. The arrangement will enable both countries to acquire the industrial resources they need from one another to resolve unanticipated supply chains to meet national security needs. Such an agreement is a rarity as such privilege is given by the US only to major NATO powers.
It is in the maritime domain that India and US have come really close. From the time of Modi 2.0 government, both the navies have carried out multiple joint exercises and their focus has been to mature the common drills and protocols. The priority has been given to the maritime affairs in the Indo-Pacific by both the navies to counter growing Chinese influence in the region. India and US have made significant progress in operationalising the Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness (IPMDA), a Quad initiative comprising of India, US, Australia and Japan. China as expected has expressed its annoyance at this agreement.
Another important point of discussion was on India-US Defence Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS-X) with a focus on co-production of defence hardware. India is already the largest exporter of defence hardware to the US and it reflects quality defence manufacturing happening in India, particularly in the private defence industry. In addition, good progress was made in the delivery of GE engines for the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) and 31 MQ-9B High Altitude UAVs, the latter key to deal with China in the Northern borders. The positioning of three Indian Colonel rank officers in the US Joint Commands is another welcome step.
India realises that Russia is considerably weakened after the prolonged war with Ukraine. There have been delays in delivery of Russian military equipment because of their wartime needs. A declining Russia has no choice but to get closer to China, both for economic bailout and military supplies. Such an eventuality when China dictates the Russian affairs may spell disaster for India in case of war. Therefore, India has to broaden its defence supply chain, as also improve domestic manufacturing in quick time. Some cutting-edge technology which came from Israel is also unlikely to be delivered, again because of their preoccupation with their multiple Middle East adversaries. In that context, the visit of Shri Rajnath Singh achieved a lot of deliverables.
Indian Defence Forces are preparing to go for theaterisation soon. During the ongoing Joint Commanders Conference taking place at Lucknow, many facets of the planned changes would be discussed. The experience gained through the visits, interactions and joint training exercises with the US no doubt would be part of the deliberations. As a responsible and mature regional & global power, a lot is expected from the Indian Defence Forces at the global level. With Theatre Commands under its wings, India would be in a better position to play more proactive role in shaping the regional and global security in land, air and maritime domain.
