India’s defence ties with the United States remain unaffected by ongoing trade tensions, as affirmed by Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh at the STRIDE 2025 defence seminar in Pune. He emphasized that defence cooperation continues without disruption despite recent tariff escalations, including a 50% U.S. tariff hike on Indian imports.

Singh highlighted that there has been no spill over effect from trade tensions into military collaboration and procurement. Notably, deliveries of General Electric (GE) engines for the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft Mk1A and the induction of two Apache attack helicopters into the Indian Army took place on schedule.

He further mentioned that high-level delegation talks, including the 2+2 dialogue, have proceeded as planned. Negotiations on defence cooperation continued even during the height of tariff disputes, indicating the resilience and strategic importance of the bilateral defence relationship.

While trade tensions caused some temporary pauses or procedural delays in certain defence procurement discussions, such as on vehicles and missile systems, these were aimed at clarifying pricing and offsets, not a breakdown in strategic engagement. Indian officials later reassured that talks had resumed and procurement plans were advancing according to procedures.

The strategic environment underscores New Delhi’s determination to insulate defence ties from commercial issues. This is particularly crucial given regional security challenges, such as Pakistan’s enhanced submarine capabilities with Chinese-built Hangor-class boats, which increase the undersea threat perception in the Indian Ocean region.

U.S. defense industry representatives and analysts note that the India-U.S. military relationship has deep commercial underpinnings, with tens of billions of dollars in defense contracts in recent years. Upcoming negotiations and U.S. delegations visiting India to discuss maritime patrol aircraft and sustainment packages illustrate the intertwined economic and security interests.

Despite heightened U.S.-India trade tensions and tariff disputes, defines secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh clearly states that military ties are robust, ongoing procurements and exercises continue unhindered, and diplomatic talks remain active, showing no evident spill over from trade frictions to defence cooperation.

Agencies