On Course: India and the US are keen on joint production of F-414 engines for Tejas fighter aircraft. India has to develop closer ties with the US to secure political support, new investments and supply chains

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s forthcoming visit to the US could be a game-changer as the Joe Biden administration has decided to boost India’s resilience in key technologies and assist its indigenous capabilities to manufacture modern fighter aircraft, artillery systems and armoured infantry vehicles. It is part of the Biden administration’s overall plan to reduce the vast asymmetry in the technological and military capabilities of India and China, assist New Delhi in countering the Beijing threat and play a more prominent role as a security provider in the region.

According to Ely Ratner, Assistant Secretary of Defence for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs, who recently accompanied US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin to India, “a stronger India that can defend its interests and sovereignty is good for the US.”

In recent months, the US-China relationship has deteriorated considerably. China has not only started defying the US writ, but is also brazenly challenging the American security apparatus. In January-end, it sent a balloon over US airspace to collect intelligence from several sensitive military installations; instead of expressing regret, China accused the US of ‘overreaction’ when the latter’s military shot down the balloon.

Last week, Chinese fighter jets and naval ships carried out threatening manoeuvres near American military planes and naval warships in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea, over which Beijing has started claiming sovereignty in defiance of international law. Recently, it declined a proposed meeting of its Defence Minister with the US Secretary of Defence that was intended to ease tensions and improve communication between the two militaries. China wants to increase pressure on the US to leave East Asia so that it could expand its hegemony in the region.

Similarly, India-China ties have suffered setbacks over the past year or so as Beijing has refused to withdraw troops from Depsang and Demchok, besides making incursions in the Tawang sector of Arunachal Pradesh in December 2022 and giving Chinese names to several places in the border state. A delegation of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) recently said, “India is incapable of challenging China in defence manufacturing and military modernisation due to its weak industrial infrastructure, and thus poses no security threat to the country.” According to PLA delegates, India would “not be a loyal partner of the US Indo-Pacific strategy due to its independent diplomatic policy.” In other words, China could do whatever it wishes on the borders and in India’s vicinity.

India has not reacted aggressively to the Chinese incursions due to the asymmetry in their economies and vast difference in the size of the Indian and Chinese air force and navy. India needs to manufacture its own fighter aircraft soon as it lacks the funds to import a large number of them and replace the damaged ones rapidly during a conflict. There is also a considerable mismatch between India and China in terms of the variety of drones, lasers, unmanned aerial, surface and undersea vehicles, space warfare capabilities to disable enemy satellites, cyberwarfare, semiconductors, microchips and informationised warfare.

President Biden and PM Modi announced the US-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology in May 2022 when they met in Tokyo on the sidelines of the Quad summit. Following that and subsequent meetings between the National Security Advisers and other senior officers, the two countries have agreed in principle to collaborate on manufacturing the GE F-414 jet engine, which will be used to power new Tejas fighter aircraft. This will be a significant milestone as it is a proprietary technology owned by the US, UK, France and Russia, which they have not shared with any other country.

During the recent visit of the US Defence Secretary, India and the US finalised a roadmap for defence industrial cooperation to fast-track technology cooperation and co-production in air combat, land mobility systems, intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, manufacturing of smart munitions and the undersea domain. The two sides also discussed cooperation in space, cyberspace and artificial intelligence.

According to Ratner, there will be big announcements during Modi’s visit regarding projects that would support India’s military modernisation and integration of the defence industrial bases of the two countries through co-production and co-development. India is likely to buy more MQ-9B predator drones from the US to equip its military with the capability to carry out surveillance of Chinese troops along the Line of Actual Control and Chinese warships in the Indian Ocean.

The PM’s itinerary is being planned to allow intensive interaction between him and Biden, including the possibility of informal discussions at the Camp David retreat near Washington. Despite differences between the two countries on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and India’s reluctance to come on board as a defence ally, the Biden administration wants India to remain a part of its security architecture in the Indo-Pacific.

America’s other plans include reducing India’s dependence on Moscow, expanding its capacity so that it can provide security to others, creating new supply chains to take advantage of the rapidly growing Indian economy, accelerating the induction of green technologies for developing a carbon-free economy and making efforts to boost ties with the Global South to moderate China’s growing influence.

India has realised that despite numerous rounds of talks at the political and military levels, there is no abatement of China’s aggression and hostility, which, in fact, have increased in the past six months. China is preparing for a long-term confrontation with India. Russia’s ability to provide new military equipment and spares for its old weapons has considerably weakened due to its involvement in the Ukraine war. India has to develop closer ties with the US to secure political support, new investments, markets, supply chains and technologies for critical industries and build its indigenous defence industry.