New Delhi: US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti has praised the defence partnership between India and the US and has said that both countries are looking for solutions together amid the ongoing shift like warfare.
He added that defence deals regarding the jet engines and the predator drones with India are on the track. India is looking forward to working with the US on its jet engines for the Fifth Generation Fighter Jet Programme and the predator drones that India has taken on lease to increase surveillance in the Indian Ocean region, especially against China.
Garcetti in a statement said that one prefers a defence partner which is very high level, unique and something that happened a couple of years ago between India and the US. He also hopes that this is the beginning of various things between the two partners. He also said that both countries are looking to produce and work on armoured cars and howitzers together.
Garcetti highlighted the changing scenario in the Red Sea and said that there is now a need to develop weapons which can confront the new nature of warfare. He also added that weapons that confront the new nature of warfare need to be produced.
He gave the example of the situation in the Red Sea currently saying that cheap drones and other cheaply made missiles can only be brought down by a million-dollar missile and defence and both India and the US are looking forward to solutions for futuristic warfare.
He said that the tensions in the Red Sea are escalating following repeated attacks by Houthis on the ship which is harming and putting pressure on trade. The Houthis initially said that they would target Israeli-linked ships in a show of solidarity with Gaza but later attacked ships of the US and UK. The US and UK have responded by hitting Houthi targets in Yemen multiple times.
As per the US Central Command, the goal of the multi-national effort is to defend their own countries, allies and partners in the region and restore freedom of navigation by destroying Houthi capabilities used to threaten US and allies in the Red Sea and surrounding waterways.
Eric Garcetti was also asked about the negotiations between India and the US on the deals for Predator Drones and Jet Engines he mentioned that the deals are not stuck at all. He said that the deals for predator drones are awaiting India’s signature but it went through a congressional notification. He said that the deal went ahead of some other things and also jumped the queue showing that how important the deal is. Although he mentioned that some people predicted rockier times the deal went through and it shows the strength of the partnership between India and the US.
The US Envoy regarding the jet engine deal said that it will take years for engines to be built because it is very complicated to build them as it is the most exquisite technology that the US has shared with anybody and even has not shared this tech with many of their closest allies.
The Biden administration notified the US Congress in February this year of its intent to sell nearly $ 4 billion worth of arms comprising mainly of the MQ9B Predator drones with long-range hellfire missiles. The Defence Security Cooperation Agency said that India continues to be an important force for political stability, peace and economic progress in the Indo-Pacific and Indian Ocean region.
As per the statement of the Defence Security Cooperation Agency Indian Government has requested to buy 31 MQ9B sky guardian aircraft, 161 Embedded Global Positioning and Inertial Navigation Systems, 35 L3 Rio Grande Communications Intelligence Sensor Suits, 170 AGM-114R Hellfire missiles, 16 M36E9 Hellfire Captive air training missiles (CATM), 310 GBU-39B/B Laser Small Diameter Bombs (LSDB) and eight GBU 39B/B LSDB Guided Test Vehicles with live fuses. This will further strengthen the Indo-US defence partnership at a deeper level.
