US, India to sign 10-year defense framework agreement

Source
China Military Online
Editor
Li Jiayao
Time
2025-07-10 20:31:58

By Nan Boyi

According to a recent report by the Russian Sputnik News Agency, the US Department of Defense has announced that US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Indian Minister of Defense Rajnath Singh reached a consensus during a phone conversation to sign a new 10-year bilateral defense cooperation framework agreement within this year.

According to the readout, "Secretary Hegseth and Minister Singh agreed to sign the next ten-year U.S.-India Defense Framework when they next meet this year." It is also noted that the two sides discussed pending major US defense sales to India and the imperative of close defense industrial cooperation between the two countries.

According to the report, the consensus on this framework agreement was initially reached as early as February during a meeting between US President Donald Trump and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The previous US-India defense framework agreement was signed in June 2015 in New Delhi.

On February 13, US President Donald Trump stated that starting this year, the US would significantly increase arms sales to India and would supply India with F-35 Stealth Fighter Jets. The F-35 is a fifth-generation stealth fighter jet jointly developed under US leadership. It is equipped with an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar and advanced airborne weapon systems.

Analysts believe that the performance of the Indian Air Force during the India-Pakistan conflict in May this year will drive India to seek more advanced fighter jets and air-to-air missiles. Against the backdrop of Western sanctions on Russia, the US, one of India's major sources of weapons, is expected to provide India with more cutting-edge weaponry.

Over the past decade or so, military ties between the US and India have continued to deepen. The US has exported more than $20 billion worth of weapons and equipment to India, including P-8I maritime patrol aircraft, Harpoon anti-ship missiles, C-17 cargo airplanes, AH-64 Apache attack helicopters, and MH-60R Seahawk anti-submarine helicopters. India also plans to procure drones, air-to-surface missiles, and other weaponry from the US.

In October 2020, New Delhi and Washington signed the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) for sharing geospatial intelligence. Together with two earlier accords, the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) and the Communications, Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA), the two sides have now completed the three so-called foundational agreements for deepening military cooperation. Analysts say that with the signing of BECA, India has effectively become a military quasi-ally of the US.

Editor's Note: Originally published on thepaper.cn, this article is translated from Chinese into English and edited by the China Military Online. The information and opinions in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of eng.chinamil.com.cn.

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