US India Defence Cooperation – Deepening Strategic Engagement
by Dr. Vivek Lall
Chief Executive
General Atomics Global Corporation
The 21st century will see India with a secure place at the top table. The question now is: how best to use it?
“We were strangers in defence cooperation at the turn of the century. Now, the United States has become one of our most important defence partners,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in his address to the joint session of the US Congress.” Today India and the US are working together, in space and in the seas, in science and in semi-conductors, in start-ups and sustainability, in tech and in trade, in farming and finance, in art and artificial intelligence, in energy and education, in healthcare and humanitarian efforts.”
Following the historic visit by Mr. Modi to Washington and a series of new commitments on defence and other cooperation, New Delhi is looking ahead to the coming decades from an unprecedented position of influence and access.
For all the opportunity that appears in store, it’s critical that India not lose sight of the importance of partnerships – relationships such as strategic defence alliances throughout the Indo-Pacific and the wider world.
Mr. Modi’s agreement with Washington will enable India to contribute more than it ever has, thanks to the huge expansion in intelligence gathering and operational flexibility that will be possible with the new MQ-9B SeaGuardian remotely piloted aircraft system.
India has already taken a major step with its lease-hire program involving two of these aircraft. Building that fleet over time in partnership with our firm, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc., will take military and intelligence capacities to new heights.
SeaGuardian can fly for 30 hours or more, depending on
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