WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has announced that the United States and India will sign very soon a new 10-year Framework for Major Defense Partnership between the two countries.
Hegseth made this announcement Tuesday after meeting India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar at the Pentagon.
The secretary said both the U.S. and India are mutually aware of the security concerns in the Indo-Pacific region, and both nations have the ability to counter that threat together. He also touched on U.S. efforts to provide India with the tools needed to counter threats in the Indo-Pacific.
'The United States is very pleased with the successful integration of many U.S. defense items into India's inventory. And building on this progress, we hope we can complete several major pending U.S. defense sales to India, expand our shared defense industrial cooperation and co-production efforts, strengthen interoperability ... between our forces, and then formally sign a new 10-year Framework for the U.S.-India Major Defense Partnership ... which we hope to do very soon,' Hegseth added. '
During a meeting in February, U.S. President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced plans to pursue new procurement and co-production arrangements for Javelin antitank guided missiles and Stryker armored vehicles. Also discussed was procurement for six additional P-8I maritime patrol aircraft.
India has already integrated into its own military weapons, such as the C-130J Super Hercules, C-17 Globemaster III and P-8I Poseidon aircraft, as well as the CH-47F Chinook, MH-60R Sea Hawk and AH-64E Apache. India also utilizes the Harpoon antiship missiles, M777 howitzers and MQ-9B Sky Guardians.
Also in February, the leaders pledged to increase military cooperation with enhanced training, exercises and operations.
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