Day 3: Key takeaways from PM Modi’s landmark US visit—defense, technology, space cooperation
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: If the UPA government, led by Dr. Manmohan Singh, had pushed India into the US orbit after the 2008 nuclear deal, despite the Left’s Opposition, the landmark State Visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to America has firmed up multiple deals that would propel New Delhi to new heights in terms of technology and defense cooperation.
Optics aside, the key takeaways from the Modi visit can be summed up thus: firming up a joint production plan for the jet engine for India’s indigenously developed fighter aircraft Tejas; the assembly of MQ9B High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) drones in India; and the Artemis Accord – that allows joint safe exploration of Moon and Mars.
NASA and ISRO will develop a strategic framework for human spaceflight cooperation after India signed the Artemis Accords, which advances a common vision of space exploration—the 21st century’s next major destination.
The other key agreements and announcements made so far included leading US technology firm Micron Technology investing up to USD 825 million to build a new semiconductor assembly and test facility in India with support from the Indian government. In New Delhi, IT Minister Ashwani Vaishnav said the first India-made chip will be developed by December 2024.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Joe Biden also launched two Joint Task Forces on advanced telecommunications, focused on Open RAN and research and development in 5-G and 6-G technologies.
In a joint statement, the two countries said that public-private cooperation between vendors and operators will be led by India’s Bharat 6-G Alliance and the US Next G Alliance.
Another key development is the partnership in the field of quantum computing. The US and India have established a joint Quantum Coordination Mechanism to facilitate collaboration among industry, academia, and government which will eventually work towards a comprehensive Quantum Information Science and Technology agreement.
From India’s security point of view, the key developments from PM Modi’s trip to the US came in the defense sector. In a new era of the India-US partnership, American firm General Electric and state-run Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) signed an MoU to jointly produce the Tejas fighter jet engines for the Indian Air Force (IAF) with a “significant amount of transfer of technology and work being done indigenously.”
The landmark deal will end India’s quest since the 1960s to manufacture its own jet engine. Many countries, including India, make their own fighter aircraft, but only a few, like the US, France, the UK, Russia, and China have the engine manufacturing technology.
The joint statement referred to the jet engine deal as a “landmark” and “trailblazing initiative” that will enable greater transfer of US jet engine technology than ever before.
Another key development was the plan for India to procure 31 Predators or HALE drones, MQ-9B, from the US, to beef up the surveillance and attack capability of the Indian Navy, Army, and IAF.
The joint statement said MQ-9Bs will be assembled in India and enhance the ISR (intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance) capabilities of India’s armed forces, including in the Indian Ocean.
As part of this plan, General Atomics will also establish a Comprehensive Global MRO (Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul) facility in India to support its long-term goals to boost indigenous defense capabilities. The US firm has a tie-up with India’s Bharat Forge, part of the Kalyani Group, for its drone business.
The Indian Navy will get 15 MQ-9B drones in maritime and anti-submarine warfare kits, while the Army and the IAF will get eight each of the land version.
During PM Modi’s visit, the two countries also launched the US-India Defense Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS-X). As a network of universities, startups, industry and think tanks, INDUS-X will facilitate joint defense technology innovation and co-production of advanced defense technology between the two countries.
The US Department of Defense’s Space Force has signed its first International Cooperative Research and Development Agreement with Indian start-ups 114 AI and 3rdiTech. Both companies will work with General Atomics to co-develop components using cutting-edge technologies in AI and semiconductors respectively, the joint statement said.
It said the two leaders “set a course to reach new frontiers across all sectors of space cooperation.”
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) will now work to develop a strategic framework for human spaceflight cooperation by the end of 2023.
India also signed the Artemis Accords which advance a common vision of space exploration for the benefit of humankind. These Accords were established by NASA in 2020, in coordination with the US Department of State and seven other founding member countries.
As a part of the program, NASA plans to land the first woman and the first person of color on the Moon, make new scientific discoveries, and explore more of the lunar surface than before.
Apart from bilateral cooperation, some major global issues also cropped up.
The two leaders expressed deep concern over the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and mourned its huge and tragic humanitarian consequences.
They underscored the impacts of this disastrous war on the global economic system, including on food, fuel, energy security, and critical supply chains, and called for greater efforts to mitigate them.
The two countries pledged to continue rendering humanitarian assistance to the people of Ukraine. They recommitted themselves to empowering the Quad as a partnership for global good.
President Biden and PM Modi reiterated their commitment to a free, open, inclusive, peaceful, and prosperous India-Pacific region with respect for territorial integrity and sovereignty, and international law.
The two sides emphasized the importance of adherence to international law, particularly as reflected in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), and the maintenance of freedom of navigation and overflight, in addressing challenges to the maritime rules-based order, including in the East and South China Seas.
