The US military in association with the Eastern Naval Command of the Indian Navy will jointly conduct a naval exercise ‘Tiger Triumph’ in Andhra Pradesh’s Visakhapatnam in March.
During the exercise, naval personnel will be trained in carrying out rescue and relief operations and humanitarian exercises in times of need like during earthquakes, tsunamis and floods.
“Over the last two decades, the US has become a significant supplier of defence equipment to India and also became India’s largest military exercise partner,” Jennifer Larson, consul general, US consulate, Hyderabad, said at the Defence News Conclave organised by CUTS International here.
$25 bn jump in 15 yrs
“We were close to zero in 2008 and it is about $25 billion now at the end of 2023,” she said about the bilateral defence trade which had grown between the two countries. “That is a remarkable jump, just in 15 years,” she said.
She said several US aerospace companies have established partnerships with Indian counterparts facilitating technology transfer and enhancing indigenous defence production capabilities. This includes some work that has taken place in Hyderabad as Boeing and Lockheed Martin set up joint ventures with Tata. “I had a chance to visit both and it was an impressive array of production. The diversity of the workforce is something to be commended,” she said.
High-end defence tech
Jennifer said some agreements already signed between India and the US would give India access to high-end defence technology.
Speakers at Conclave said the trust factor between both the US and India had solidified over the years. They pointed out that though India has close ties with Russia, the US respects such bilaterial relationships, they said.
To cement the relationship between both countries, the speakers emphasised that ‘cultural fit’ was important and a deeper understanding would prevail only with continuous talks and not just occasionally.
“There will have to be a minimum level of trust to serve the future common interests of both the countries,” said Maj Gen Pawan Anand (retired), head, Atma Nirbhar Bharat initiative, United Service Institution of India.
Purushendra Singh, assistant director, CUTS International, said similar Defence News Conclaves will be organised in Kolkata, Jaipur, Mumbai and Chennai.
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