Defence Minister Rajnath Singh To Visit US From August 23 To 26

He will lead a top-level discussion with the US defence industry on current and potential collaborations, and will also engage with the Indian community during his trip.

According to the defence ministry, Rajnath Singh, the Defence Minister, is scheduled to embark on a four-day official trip to the US starting from August 23 until August 26. During this time, he will engage in a bilateral meeting with US Secretary of Defence, Lloyd Austin.

Singh’s visit is occurring less than a year since his bilateral meeting with Austin following the India-US 2+2 ministerial dialogue. At that time, both parties discussed opportunities for collaboration in defense technology, including joint research in important fields.

As per the Defence Ministry’s statement, the visit is occurring against the backdrop of an increasing momentum in India-US relations and defence collaborations at various levels.

As part of the visit, the minister will also have a meeting with Jake Sullivan, the US Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs.

The visit is anticipated to enhance the already robust India-US Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership, stated the source.

Authorities familiar with the visit shared that Singh may also tour several US military establishments and facilitate the timely arrival of GE-F404 jet engines, which are used in the domestically-produced Tejas Mark-1A fighter. The postponed delivery of these engines by GE has caused a delay in providing Tejas aircraft to the Indian Air Force.

Additional topics expected to be covered in the discussions are ongoing and potential high-end defence agreements between the two nations. This may involve updates on the partnership between General Electric (GE) Aerospace and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to produce GE F-414 jet engines for India’s LCA MK 2 fighter jets, as well as negotiations for MQ-9B Predator drones, which are still ongoing according to officials. Progress on both of these deals has been slow.

During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to the White House in June of last year, the GE-HAL pact was signed. This followed Singh’s bilateral meeting with Austin, where they discussed increased cooperation on advanced technologies and joint manufacturing of critical technologies. A top government official had also mentioned last year that India aimed to have 15-20% indigenous content in MQ-9B HALE UAVs, a significant increase from the eight to nine percent offered by General Atomics. In addition, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) cleared the procurement of 31 UAVs for the Navy, Army, and Indian Air Force (IAF) just one week before PM Modi’s visit to the US.

During Singh’s visit, the talks between India and the US will include discussions on the joint production of Stryker infantry vehicles and javelin Anti-Tank Guided Missiles (ATGM). This aligns with the defence industry cooperation roadmap between both countries, which also involves the development of infantry combat vehicles for India.