Defence deals top on agenda

New Delhi: As Prime Minister Narendra Modi begins a landmark state visit in the US on Tuesday, there is intense anticipation surrounding a potential deal to facilitate the transfer of critical engine technology manufactured by General Electric to India. Manufacturing these engines in India will be transformational for the Indian airspace.

Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra said that all aspects of defence co-production and co-development will be part of the discussions between PM Modi and US President Joe Biden. "One of the key components which will be prominently showcased will be bilateral defence cooperation," he said. The remarks assume significance as both India and US have deepened their defence cooperation in recent years amid tensions with China. External Affairs Ministry officials had earlier said that India and US are preparing a "robust outcome document" which will set the tone for the future relationship between the two powerful democracies. The External Affairs Ministry has said that a roadmap for defence industrial cooperation is expected to be one of the key outcomes of PM Modi's visit.

It is said that General Electric may produce the GE-F414 jet engines in India, in a multi-million-dollar deal with Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL). The GE-F414 is a cutting-edge jet engine that powers the F/A-18 Hornet, the US Navy’s go-to fighter. Reports suggest America is willing to transfer key technology worth up to 80 per cent of the value of the deal - it would power the LCA-Mark2, an advanced variant of the made-in-India Light Combat Aircraft (LCA).

The deal means that General Electric will open shop in India, in partnership with HAL, to introduce the manufacturing processes required to build not just single-crystal turbine blades, but also other key components - including laser drilling for combustion, machining of powder metallurgy and the manufacture of compression discs and blades.

After the deal, the Indian Air Force (IAF) will have reliable and long-lasting jet engines that can be overhauled after several thousand hours. Russian engines frequently needed an overhaul at a few hundred hours. The GE engines, experts say, are lighter, more powerful, more fuel-efficient, and have the potential to be upgraded for future use. The US has never allowed the transfer of this level of technology to anyone.

It may be said here that the Defence ministry had last week approved procurement of 31 MQ-9B Predator armed drones from the US under a government-to-government framework. The nearly $3 billion deal is expected to be announced following talks between PM Modi and Biden in Washington later this week. It is learnt that the Navy is likely to get 14 drones while the Indian Air Force and the Army will get eight each.

The defence ties between the two nations have been on an upswing over the last few years as America tries to wean India off of Russian weaponry.

Washington also views New Delhi as a strong regional counterweight to China, which has been aggressively asserting itself in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

Meanwhile, India has also increased defence cooperation with the US amid recent flareups with China along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Eastern Ladakh.

Modi’s visit has also generated optimism within the Indian semiconductor industry, with IESA president K Krishna Moorthy expressing high hopes for significant announcements in the coming weeks. “Probably there will be some announcements coming. It’s not possible for me to comment on that, but we are definitely going to see a series of announcements coming in the next many weeks. Probably one will start with this visit of the Prime Minister,” Moorthy said.

On June 23, Modi will also address an invitation-only gathering of diaspora leaders from across the country at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington DC. The event will be for two hours from 7pm to 9pm (local time) on June 23.

Award-winning international singer Mary Millben will perform for Modi and other guests at a diaspora reception hosted by the United States Indian Community Foundation (USICF) at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center. Millben will on the invitation of India’s Permanent Representative to the UN attend the 9th International Day of Yoga at the UN Headquarters (UNHQ) on June 21 with Modi.