A day after Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his American counterpart Pete Hegseth held a phone conversation, the Pentagon said that India and the United States have agreed to sign a new 10-year framework to further expand defence and strategic ties between the two countries.
India, US to sign framework when Rajnath Singh and Pete Hegseth meet next
India and the US will sign a new defence framework when Defence Minister Singh and his US counterpart meet later this year, a Pentagon spokesperson has said.
The decision on the defence framework was mentioned in a Pentagon statement that was released on Wednesday. "Secretary Hegseth and Minister Singh agreed to sign the next 10-year US-India Defence Framework when they next meet this year," it said.
It said the two sides discussed pending major US defence sales to India and the imperative of close defence industrial cooperation between the two countries. "Secretary Hegseth emphasised the priority the United States places on India as its key defence partner in South Asia," the Pentagon said.
It said the two leaders reviewed the "considerable progress" both countries have made toward achieving the defence goals set out in the February 2025 joint statement by President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. "The two discussed pending major US defence sales to India and the imperative of close defence industrial cooperation between the two countries," the Pentagon readout said without providing further details.
India urged the US to expedite the delivery of GE F404 engines
During a phone conversation on Tuesday, Singh urged Hegseth to speed up the delivery of GE F404 engines needed for the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft, according to sources familiar with the matter.
He also pushed for the swift finalisation of a proposed agreement between Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) and US defence giant GE Aerospace for the joint manufacturing of F414 jet engines in India, the sources added.
The delay in the supply of F404 engines by GE Aerospace has resulted in HAL missing the deadline to supply Tejas Mark 1A aircraft to the Indian Air Force.
An Indian readout on Tuesday said Singh and Hegseth discussed a wide canvas of issues ranging from long-term cooperation in the defence sector, including training and military exchanges, to expanding industry collaborations.
"They agreed to further build upon the momentum of this critical and mutually beneficial partnership across all its pillars such as interoperability, integration of defence industrial supply chains, logistics sharing, increased joint military exercises and cooperation with other like-minded partners," it said.
(With PTI inputs)
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