Rajnath Singh discusses security, defence ties with US counterpart Lloyd Austin

The roadmap for India-US defence cooperation was finalised last year, and the two ministers talked about how to carry it out.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held a telephonic conversation with United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on March 18 and discussed a variety of bilateral, regional security, and defence cooperation issues.

Singh and Austin discussed current bilateral events, including the February 2024 INDUS-X Summit in New Delhi and the bilateral Tri-Service exercise ‘Tiger Triumph’ which commenced in India on March 18, 2024.

The Indian Navy's significant contribution to anti-piracy efforts in the Indian Ocean region was acknowledged by the US Secretary of Defence.

The roadmap for India-US defence cooperation was finalised last year, and the two ministers talked about how to carry it out. A brief discussion was also held about other defense-industrial cooperation problems, such as the repair of US naval ships at Indian shipyards.

Launched in June 2023, the India-US Defence Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS-X) aims to synchronise defence innovation initiatives in technology, systems, and products. It established a link between the military Innovation Unit (DIU) in the US and Innovation for Defence Excellence (iDEX) in India, the respective national military ecosystem hubs.

Since its inception, the US-India Business Council and the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum have supported the establishment of a senior advisory group, the INDUS-X Mutual Promotion of Advanced Collaborative Technologies (IMPACT) has launched initial joint innovation challenges (undersea communications, oil spill detection/integration system), conducted workshops with academia and industry, and held investor-start-up meetings for the defence industry.

The relationship between the US and India has advanced significantly over the past 20 years and has developed into a wide-ranging cooperative effort. Cooperation between the military and security sectors has been crucial in fostering the growth of an all-encompassing global strategic alliance that includes a growing multi-sectoral involvement throughout this time.

Even though there have occasionally been areas of disagreement, both parties have addressed them amicably and cooperatively so far. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's state visit to the US in June 2023 gave the relationship a major boost and increased hopes for increased dynamism and robustness.