Aiming for a transformative defence partnership, India and the U.S. on Sunday agreed to extend the Defence Cooperation Agreement and identified four projects under the Defence Technology Trade Initiative (DTTI) for joint production and development and exploring cooperation for jet engines and aircraft carrier systems.

“Today, we have also decided to take our growing defence cooperation to a new level. We have agreed, in principle, to pursue co-development and co-production of specific advanced defence projects,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said after holding extensive talks with visiting U.S. President Barack Obama here.

Mr. Modi said this would help upgrade the country’s domestic defence industry and expand the manufacturing sector in India.

Mr. Obama said the agreement would guide the bilateral defence cooperation for the next 10 years.

“We agreed to deepen our defence and security cooperation ... And in a major step forward for our relationship, defence technology and trade initiative will allow us to jointly develop and produce defence technologies,” Mr. Obama said.

In another significant step, the two countries agreed to set up a working group to explore aircraft carrier technology and design and develop jet engine technology in India.

The projects identified under the DTTI include next-generation Raven mini-unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), roll-on, roll-off intelligence kits for C-130 transport aircraft and mobile electric hybrid power source.

Indian Ambassador to the U.S. S. Jaishankar said these four projects were “pathfinder” schemes as they would determine how to go forward in defence co-development. Of these, two projects were with U.S. companies, while two were with the U.S. government.

Harsh V. Pant, Professor at King’s College, London, said: “There is an attempt now to make the DTTI more operational so that it becomes result-oriented. So far, since its institutionalisation in 2012, no major projects have emerged. And now certain projects have been clearly outlined on which work will begin. This is a major step forward and also very ambitious with the talk of working groups on aircraft carrier and jet engine technologies.”

Both leaders agreed to increase bilateral anti-terror cooperation, intelligence sharing and maritime security. “Our two countries will deepen our bilateral security cooperation against terrorist groups. And, we will further enhance our counter-terrorism capabilities, including in the area of technology,” Mr. Modi said.

Source: TH