US and India committed to advancing security in the Indo-Pacific by expanding cooperation on terrorist screening, information sharing, aviation security, terrorist use of the internet, terrorist designations, and joint capacity building, cementing closer ties between two leading Indo-Pacific powers. In their first bilateral meeting, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden discussed bolstering cooperative efforts to tackle illegal drug manufacturing.
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Since 2016, the US and India have signed four important defence enabling agreements, indicating that they have made considerable progress as Major Defense Partners. Increased intelligence sharing, bilateral and multilateral exercises, maritime security cooperation, liaison officer exchanges, and logistical cooperation are all on the agenda for the bilateral meeting.
In July, the US and India committed to a USD 22 million initiative to co-develop air-launched crewless aerial vehicles as part of the US-India Defense Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI). DTTI already has four working groups, and the following senior officials’ conference later this year will extend defence industry collaboration even further.
LM delivered the first two MH-60R multi-mission marine helicopters to India in June. These platforms, built-in Troy, Alabama, and Stratford, Connecticut, and integrated into Owego, New York, give India access to the global supply chain for multi-role helicopters. India is a valuable maritime partner in the Indo-Pacific and beyond, as the world’s second-largest operator of P-8I Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft.
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India’s World Center for Nuclear Energy Partnership and international partners such as the International Atomic Energy Agency, India and the United States reiterated their commitment to global nuclear security in 2020.
