Indo-US defence cooperation is set to take an orbital jump after Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets US President Joe Biden on Thursday in Washington.
With the Pentagon offering New Delhi the “Stryker” family of eight-wheeled armoured fighting vehicles and upgradation of M777 towed howitzers, apart from MQ-9 Reaper drones and the manufacturing of GE-F414 aircraft engines in India under 100% transfer of technology.
According to officials based in New Delhi and Washington, while the final decision on both Stryker and upgradation of M777 light weight howitzer depends on the conditions offered by the US, the defence equipment deals will be a significant component of the outcomes of the visit which will also see the signing of a deal with Micron for a $ 2.7 billion chip plant in India and a pact on quantum computing and artificial intelligence.
Produced by General Dynamics Land Systems, the Stryker is an eight into eight wheel drive V-hull armoured infantry vehicle for rapid combat response to any insurgency or war-like situation. Armed with a 30 mm cannon and 105 mm mobile gun, the Stryker was used to good effect by the US army and the NATO forces to counter the Taliban in Afghanistan. The US is offering the infantry combat vehicle to India and the Modi government is interested in the local manufacture of the armoured vehicle under the “Atmanirbhar Bharat” route.
According to the officials cited above, the US is also offering to upgrade 155 mm M777 howitzers with precision-guided long range ammunition to counter the artillery challenge on India’s northern borders. India already has 145 M777 howitzers, 120 of which were made by Mahindra Defence Systems in business arrangement with BAE systems. Given the light weight of the gun, the M777 can be transported by helicopters to mountain tops in case of any emergency in Jammu and Kashmir or Arunachal Pradesh.
While India and the US have an MoU over cyber security cooperation, the ties will get further cemented and the mutual convergence will be reflected in the joint statement issued at the end of PM Modi’s visit to the US.
The biggest deal is expected to be for the F-414 aircraft engines that will power indigenously manufactured fighters for the coming decade as well as “hunter-killer” Reaper drones, which will counter the challenge faced by India from China, which has armed drones and has also sold them to Pakistan.