New Delhi, Jan 25: India and the US today renewed an enhanced Defence Framework Agreement for the next ten years and identified four key “pathfinder projects” for joint development and production including the next generation Raven mini UAVs and specialised kits for C-130 military transport aircraft. Both countries also agreed on a Working Group to explore aircraft carrier technology besides designing and development of jet engine technology.
The breakthroughs came following the high-level talks held between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and visiting US President Barack Obama. ”Today, we have also decided to take our growing defence cooperation to a new level. We have agreed, in principle, to pursue co-development and co-production of specific advanced defence projects,” Modi said addressing a joint press interaction with Obama. Modi said this will help upgrade country’s domestic defence industry and expand the manufacturing sector in India.
He added that both countries will also explore cooperation in other areas of advanced defence technologies. ”We have renewed our Defence Framework Agreement. We will deepen our cooperation on maritime security,” he said. The new framework will enhance bilateral defence partnership by stepping up joint military exercises and in-depth intelligence-sharing, maritime security efforts among others besides giving a strong push for joint- development and production of high-end defence equipment.
Under the Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI), four projects have been agreed on as “pathfinder projects”, Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh said. She identified them as next generation Raven Minis UAVs, roll on and roll off kits for C-130, mobile electric hybrid power source and Uniform Integrated Protection Ensemble Increment 2. Obama, who arrived today on a three-day visit, welcomed the development and said renewal of the defence pact will guide the bilateral defence cooperation for next ten years.
“We agreed to deepen our defence and security cooperation…. And in a major step forward for our relationship, defence technology and trade initiative will allow us to jointly develop and produce defence technologies,” he said. Obama added that both Modi and he have also agreed to a “new vision for Asia Pacific”. ”We are doing together more to advance our shared security and prosperity in this critical region,” he said. The first framework agreement, which expires this year, was signed in the US in 2005 by the then Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee and his US counterpart in the previous George W.Bush administration, Donald Rumsfeld.
The Foreign Secretary said both countries have also ”agreed on a Working Group to explore aircraft carrier technology, sharing, design and also development of jet engine technology”. Asked for more details, Indian Ambassador to US S Jaishankar said all four projects involve joint development and joint production. ”Two of these are with American companies. Two of them with US governments. They have to work out the modalities because they just had a DTTI working group meeting before the visit,” he said.
The Ambassador noted that the purpose of DTTI is to identify technologies which is unique and which is viable to produce. He said the identified projects are “called pathfinders projects because experiences of this will guide us on how we take this forward”. On the Working Group for jet engines, he said both sides had a discussion under DTTI and have decided “to explore the development of jet engines in India”. He said it was much broader than the Kaveri jet engine that India is already working on.
Replying to a query about the difference between the existing defence framework and the new one, he said India has “negotiated a new” agreement for the next ten years. ”DTTI is an initiative which is within the defence framework. It is a new initiative. It was announced a few years ago but it has really become operational now. The big change is that we have taken that big step towards operationalising an initiative and this case specifically identifying projects and agreeing on important areas where we will have working groups,” he said.
The significant project under DTTI is the plans for joint development and production of next generation Raven Mini UAVs, a device which the Indian Army was eyeing. If the joint manufacturing of the UAV happens, then India would be able to get a slice of the multi-billion order book for the world’s most advanced hand-launched drone. The drone proved to be a great success for the American forces in Afghanistan as it gives air observations up to a distance of 10 kilometres, which makes it possible to increase situational awareness.
Defence sources said the roll on and roll off kits for C-130 aircraft deals with specialised plates and technology for loading and loading off cargo.
Mobile Electric Hybrid Power Source is conceived to be a non-grid-tied smart power system with output ranging from 300W to 800kW. This was also effectively put into use by the American Army in Afghanistan. Uniform Integrated Protection Ensemble Increment 2 refers to a more advanced protection gear for soldiers against chemical and biological warfare. A joint statement issued after the meeting said both
leaders welcomed the efforts made by the two sides to expand bilateral defence cooperation in areas of mutual interest and reaffirmed their commitment to continue to work towards deepening bilateral defence relationship.
The leaders acknowledged bilateral military ties as the foundation of the defence relationship and encouraged their respective militaries to pursue additional opportunities for engagement through exercises, military personnel exchanges, and defence dialogues. They underscored the need for the two-way defence engagement to include technology cooperation and collaboration, co-production and co-development. To this end, the President and the Prime Minister emphasized the ongoing importance of the DTTI in developing new areas of technology cooperation in the defence sector including through co-development and co-production.
The Prime Minister welcomed the US Defence Department’s establishment of a dedicated rapid reaction team focused exclusively on advancing DTTI. Modi and Obama expressed confidence that continued DTTI collaboration will yield additional joint projects in the near future. The President also welcomed the Prime Minister’s initiatives to liberalise the Foreign Direct Investment Policy regime in the defence sector and US leader agreed to cooperate on India’s efforts to establish a defence industrial base in this coutnry, including through initiatives like ‘Make in India.’
Modi and Obama expressed satisfaction over the efforts made by both countries to deepen cooperation in the field of maritime security, as reflected in the 2015 Framework for the US-India Defense Relationship. To this end, they agreed that the navies of both sides would continue discussions to identify specific areas for expanding maritime cooperation. They also reiterated their commitment to upgrading their bilateral naval exercise MALABAR.
Obama in India: India, US renew defence framework pact for next 10 years | Latest News & Gossip on Popular Trends at India.com
The breakthroughs came following the high-level talks held between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and visiting US President Barack Obama. ”Today, we have also decided to take our growing defence cooperation to a new level. We have agreed, in principle, to pursue co-development and co-production of specific advanced defence projects,” Modi said addressing a joint press interaction with Obama. Modi said this will help upgrade country’s domestic defence industry and expand the manufacturing sector in India.
He added that both countries will also explore cooperation in other areas of advanced defence technologies. ”We have renewed our Defence Framework Agreement. We will deepen our cooperation on maritime security,” he said. The new framework will enhance bilateral defence partnership by stepping up joint military exercises and in-depth intelligence-sharing, maritime security efforts among others besides giving a strong push for joint- development and production of high-end defence equipment.
Under the Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI), four projects have been agreed on as “pathfinder projects”, Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh said. She identified them as next generation Raven Minis UAVs, roll on and roll off kits for C-130, mobile electric hybrid power source and Uniform Integrated Protection Ensemble Increment 2. Obama, who arrived today on a three-day visit, welcomed the development and said renewal of the defence pact will guide the bilateral defence cooperation for next ten years.
“We agreed to deepen our defence and security cooperation…. And in a major step forward for our relationship, defence technology and trade initiative will allow us to jointly develop and produce defence technologies,” he said. Obama added that both Modi and he have also agreed to a “new vision for Asia Pacific”. ”We are doing together more to advance our shared security and prosperity in this critical region,” he said. The first framework agreement, which expires this year, was signed in the US in 2005 by the then Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee and his US counterpart in the previous George W.Bush administration, Donald Rumsfeld.
The Foreign Secretary said both countries have also ”agreed on a Working Group to explore aircraft carrier technology, sharing, design and also development of jet engine technology”. Asked for more details, Indian Ambassador to US S Jaishankar said all four projects involve joint development and joint production. ”Two of these are with American companies. Two of them with US governments. They have to work out the modalities because they just had a DTTI working group meeting before the visit,” he said.
The Ambassador noted that the purpose of DTTI is to identify technologies which is unique and which is viable to produce. He said the identified projects are “called pathfinders projects because experiences of this will guide us on how we take this forward”. On the Working Group for jet engines, he said both sides had a discussion under DTTI and have decided “to explore the development of jet engines in India”. He said it was much broader than the Kaveri jet engine that India is already working on.
Replying to a query about the difference between the existing defence framework and the new one, he said India has “negotiated a new” agreement for the next ten years. ”DTTI is an initiative which is within the defence framework. It is a new initiative. It was announced a few years ago but it has really become operational now. The big change is that we have taken that big step towards operationalising an initiative and this case specifically identifying projects and agreeing on important areas where we will have working groups,” he said.
The significant project under DTTI is the plans for joint development and production of next generation Raven Mini UAVs, a device which the Indian Army was eyeing. If the joint manufacturing of the UAV happens, then India would be able to get a slice of the multi-billion order book for the world’s most advanced hand-launched drone. The drone proved to be a great success for the American forces in Afghanistan as it gives air observations up to a distance of 10 kilometres, which makes it possible to increase situational awareness.
Defence sources said the roll on and roll off kits for C-130 aircraft deals with specialised plates and technology for loading and loading off cargo.
Mobile Electric Hybrid Power Source is conceived to be a non-grid-tied smart power system with output ranging from 300W to 800kW. This was also effectively put into use by the American Army in Afghanistan. Uniform Integrated Protection Ensemble Increment 2 refers to a more advanced protection gear for soldiers against chemical and biological warfare. A joint statement issued after the meeting said both
leaders welcomed the efforts made by the two sides to expand bilateral defence cooperation in areas of mutual interest and reaffirmed their commitment to continue to work towards deepening bilateral defence relationship.
The leaders acknowledged bilateral military ties as the foundation of the defence relationship and encouraged their respective militaries to pursue additional opportunities for engagement through exercises, military personnel exchanges, and defence dialogues. They underscored the need for the two-way defence engagement to include technology cooperation and collaboration, co-production and co-development. To this end, the President and the Prime Minister emphasized the ongoing importance of the DTTI in developing new areas of technology cooperation in the defence sector including through co-development and co-production.
The Prime Minister welcomed the US Defence Department’s establishment of a dedicated rapid reaction team focused exclusively on advancing DTTI. Modi and Obama expressed confidence that continued DTTI collaboration will yield additional joint projects in the near future. The President also welcomed the Prime Minister’s initiatives to liberalise the Foreign Direct Investment Policy regime in the defence sector and US leader agreed to cooperate on India’s efforts to establish a defence industrial base in this coutnry, including through initiatives like ‘Make in India.’
Modi and Obama expressed satisfaction over the efforts made by both countries to deepen cooperation in the field of maritime security, as reflected in the 2015 Framework for the US-India Defense Relationship. To this end, they agreed that the navies of both sides would continue discussions to identify specific areas for expanding maritime cooperation. They also reiterated their commitment to upgrading their bilateral naval exercise MALABAR.
Obama in India: India, US renew defence framework pact for next 10 years | Latest News & Gossip on Popular Trends at India.com
