12th round of military talks last for around nine hours; no official comment on the outcome of the meeting that took place at the Moldo border point on the Chinese side of LAC

Photo for representation only. PTI

New Delhi, July 31

India on Saturday pressed for an early disengagement of troops and weapons in Hot Springs, Gogra and other remaining friction points in eastern Ladakh during the 12th round of military talks with China that lasted for around nine hours, sources in the security establishment said. 

Both sides held detailed deliberation and the talks were comprehensive, they said without elaborating further.

There was no official comment on the outcome of the meeting that took place at the Moldo border point on the Chinese side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh amid expectations of a breakthrough in the disengagement process in Gogra and Hot Springs.

It is learnt that both sides discussed “specific details to cool tempers in the remaining friction points including moving ahead with the disengagement process and agreed to jointly maintain stability on the ground”.

The talks started at 10.30 am and ended at 7.30 pm, sources said.

The Indian side forcefully pressed for early resolution of the standoff and particularly insisted on expeditious disengagement in Hot Springs and Gogra, a source said.

Ahead of the talks, sources said India was hopeful of a positive outcome on the disengagement process.

India has been insisting that the resolution of the outstanding issues, including at Depsang, Hot Springs and Gogra, is essential for the overall ties between the two countries.

The latest round of talks took place after a gap of more than three and a half months. The 11th round of military dialogue had taken place on April 9 at the Chushul border point on the Indian side of the LAC and it lasted for around 13 hours.

The 12th round of military talks took place over two weeks after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar firmly conveyed to his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi that the prolongation of the existing situation in eastern Ladakh was visibly impacting the bilateral ties in a “negative manner”.

The two foreign ministers had held a one-hour bilateral meeting on the sidelines of a conclave of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Tajik capital city Dushanbe on July 14.

In the meeting, Jaishankar had told Wang that any unilateral change in the status quo along the LAC was “not acceptable” to India and that the overall ties can only develop after full restoration of peace and tranquillity in eastern Ladakh.

In the last round of military talks, both sides discussed ways to take forward the disengagement process in Hot Springs, Gogra and Depsang with a larger aim to bring down tensions in the region. However, there was no forward movement in the disengagement process.https://4cdf56fc6d7d8a21f498d43bcb12f202.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.html

The Indian delegation at Saturday’s talks was led by Lt Gen PGK Menon, the Commander of the Leh-based 14 Corps.

The border standoff between the Indian and Chinese militaries erupted in May last year following a violent clash in the Pangong lake areas and both sides gradually enhanced their deployment by rushing in tens of thousands of soldiers as well as heavy weaponry.

As a result of a series of military and diplomatic talks, the two sides completed the withdrawal of troops and weapons from the North and South banks of Pangong lake in February in line with an agreement on disengagement.

Each side currently has around 50,000 to 60,000 troops along the LAC in the sensitive sector. PTI

Gogra, Hot Springs, Depsang friction points

Photo for representation only. PTI

Tribune News Service
New Delhi, July 31

Senior Indian and Chinese military commanders could possibly arrive at a consensus of some sort for a pullback of troops at the identified friction points along the 832-km Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh.

The agreed upon agenda for the Lt Gen-level talks, which began at 10 am and lasted around 10 hours, included disengagement and de-escalation of troops, weapons and equipment from Gogra and Hot Springs, the two flashpoints along the LAC. The Chinese were learnt to be unwilling to discuss troop build-up in Depsang plains, said an official.

Round 12 of Army talks

• It was the 12th round of military talks since June 6 last year
• Come 2 weeks after S Jaishankar met his Chinese counterpart
• EAM told China that LAC tension was ‘negatively’ impacting ties
• Any unilateral change in status quo was ‘unacceptable’, he had said

Organised at the Moldo garrison of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) of China, it was the 12th round of senior military level talks between the two sides since June 6 last year. Moldo faces Chushul on the Indian side.

A formal announcement of the outcome, if any, was expected after the Indian side returned to its base and the decision was conveyed to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). The MEA is the coordinator of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on India-China border affairs. The WMCC is a group comprising representatives of the foreign ministries and the militaries of the two sides.

Lt Gen PGK Menon, 14 Corps Commander, led the talks from the Indian side. Once Lt Gen Menon along with his team returned to Chushul from Moldo, he was expected to head back to his headquarters at Leh, a 4-hour journey in normal weather conditions.

The 12th round of military talks took place over two weeks after External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar firmly conveyed to his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi that the prolongation of the existing situation in eastern Ladakh was visibly impacting the bilateral ties in a “negative manner”.

The two foreign ministers had held a one-hour bilateral meeting on the sidelines of a conclave of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Tajik capital city Dushanbe on July 14.

In the meeting, Jaishankar had told Wang that any unilateral change in the status quo along the Line of Actual Control was “not acceptable” to India and that the overall ties could only develop after full restoration of peace and tranquillity in eastern Ladakh.

Assam security personnel stand vigil outside the Mizoram House in Guwahati. PTI

Tribune News Service
New Delhi, July 31

Assam and Nagaland have inked a pact to “move back” their security personnel from the current location to their base camps in a bid to reduce tension at the border, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.

Border conflict: Several clashes since 1965

• The border dispute between Assam and Nagaland began soon after Nagaland became a state in 1963
• The Nagaland State Act of 1962 had defined the state’s borders according to a 1925 notification
• Nagaland, however, did not accept border delineation
• Several major clashes have taken place on the inter-state border since 1965

In a Twitter Post, the Assam Chief Minister said, “the two states have agreed to move back their security personnel from the current location to their base camps in a bid to reduce tension at the border.”

“In a major breakthrough towards de-escalating tensions at Assam-Nagaland border, the two Chief Secretaries have arrived at an understanding to immediately withdraw states’ forces from border locations to their respective base camps,” Sarma said.

The joint statement, a copy of which was also pasted on Twitter by Sarma, read: “Both sides agreed that in order to maintain peace and tranquility in the areas around Ao Senden village and Vikuto Village, as known in Nagaland and in Assam they are known as Jankhona Nala/Nagajankha respectively, urgent and effective steps are required for defusing the standoff between the security forces of Nagaland and Assam.”

W DELHI: A new biography on former Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has stoked a fresh controversy with his claim that he had recommended that Gen. Bipin Rawat supersede two senior officers to become the Army Chief, “convinced that he was a better choice”, with the author describing it as “a bold move”, contrary to claims at the time that the correct procedures had been followed.

“Gen. Bipin Rawat, India’s first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and Army Chief prior to that, had a close association with Parrikar when he was Defence Minister. In fact, it was on Parrikar’s watch in the MoD that Gen. Rawat was made the Army Chief by by-passing two generals senior to him.

“It was a bold decision since the civilian leadership is normally loathed for tampering with convention. Parrikar was convinced that Gen. Rawat was a better choice to head the Indian Army at that point. So he signed on the recommendation to supersede two senior most generals and make Gen. Rawat the Army Chief, ” Nitin Gokhale, a media entrepreneur, strategic affairs analyst and author of more than half-a-dozen books on military history, insurgencies and wars, writes about his “very close” friend in “Manohar Parrikar – Brilliant Mind, Simple Life (Bloomsbury)” that records his 28-month tenure in South Block and has been sponsored by the Goa government, that he headed for four terms as Chief Minister over an eight-year period.

“Prime Minister Modi concurred with Parrikar’s recommendation and took what is considered a decision that broke the tradition in appointing an Army Chief on December 31, 2016. I am now at liberty to reveal that Parrikar had confided in me the fact that he was recommending Gen. Rawat as the next Army Chief, at least a month in advance, ” Gokhale writes.

“I was impressed with Gen. Rawat’s decisiveness and bold nature in my meetings with him as Commander of 3 Corps in Dimapur, Nagaland, and later as Southern Army Commander in Pune, ” Gokhale quotes Parrikar as mentioning to him one evening in November 2016. “Perhaps that was the reason why Gen. Rawat was brought to the Army headquarters as Vice Chief of Army Staff from September 2016 onwards, in preparation for his elevation as Army Chief”.

Parrikar’s claim runs contrary to what he himself had stated on January 6, 2017.

“A set procedure was followed. There was no seniority principal or it would’ve merely been a date based computer job, ” Parrikar had stated at the Defence Ministry’s Swachhta Pakhwada (cleanliness campaign that forms a part of the government’s Swachhta Abhiyan initiative) here.

In being elevated, Gen. Rawat, an Infantry officer, superseded Lt. Gen Praveen Bakshi (Armoured Corps), the Eastern Commander, and Lt. Gen. P.M. Hariz (Mechanised Infantry). Southern Army Commander.

Interestingly, six of the eight Army chiefs over the past two decades have been from the Infantry and two from the Artillery.

“Rawat’s supersession of Bakshi and Hariz indicates how difficult it has become for a non-infantry general to become chief, even when he has the seniority and merits. The army’s command hierarchy has demonstrated its ability to bring the government around to their viewpoint, ” noted defence analyst Ajai Shukla wrote at the time.

“The government, however, justifies Rawat’s selection as based on merit. In leaks to chosen journalists on WhatsApp (which this correspondent has reviewed) a defence ministry spokesperson claimed Rawat’s rare combination of skill and experience makes him ‘the best suited among the Lt. Generals, to deal with the emerging challenges’, ” Shukla added.

This was only the second time in 33 years that a supersession has happened after Lt. Gen. S.K. Sinha, the Army Vice Chief, was passed over in 1983 by the Indira Gandhi government in favour of Lt. Gen. A.S. Vaidya.

On his part, Gen. Rawat returned the compliment, as it were at the First Manohar Parrikar Memorial Lecture, organised by the Forum for Integrated National Security (FINS) in Mumbai, in December 2019.

“Mr Parrikar, or ‘Honourable RM (Raksha Mantri)’, as we addressed him, was a man of many attributes—politically savvy was of course the key—that explains his very successful career in politics; but there were other qualities that I would like to recall: Outstanding qualities of head and heart, a very curious mind, a military–scientific temper, persistence, doggedness, great clarity of thought and above all, a person of enormous simplicity and pragmatism, ” Gen. Rawat said.

“A voracious reader, he would often quote from military classics like Victory on the Potomac (a book by a Pentagon insider, detailing the grim battles before the Goldwater–Nichols Act got promulgated in the US) and Robert Greene’s 33 Strategies of War. Any concept that he propounded in the military domain was done after careful and in-depth study of global developments and experiences. Above all, it was he who envisioned this uniquely Indian Defence Ecosystem that we are in the midst of creating—a happy amalgam of the strengths of the DRDO, the private sector, MSMEs (Ministry of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises), startups and DPSUs (Defence Public Sector Undertakings); these hubs of defence excellence which lie at the intersection of engineering, science, innovation and enterprise, ” Gen. Rawat added.

Indian Army To Conduct 13 Day Long Military Exercise With Russian Counterpart From August 1. The 12th edition of Indo-Russia joint exercise ‘Indra-21’ will strengthen bilateral security cooperation & reinforce the longstanding bond between the two nations, Indian Army said
Indian Army on Tuesday confirmed that India and Russia will jointly conduct a 13-day mega military exercise ‘Indra 21’ emphasizing on counter-terror operations in the Russian city of Volgograd from August 1.
They also mentioned that successful completion of the 12th edition of the exercise will be nothing short of touching another “milestone” in intensifying the bilateral security cooperation and will also serve to reinforce the longstanding bond of friendship between India and Russia.
The Army said 250 personnel from each side will participate in the 12th edition of the joint military exercise.
“The 12th edition of Indo-Russia joint military exercise Indra-21 will be held at Volgograd, Russia from August 1 to 13,” the Army said.
It said the exercise will entail the conduct of counter-terror operations mandated under the UN’s framework of joint forces against international terror groups.
“Exercise Indra-21 will further strengthen mutual confidence and interoperability between the Indian and Russian armies and enable sharing of best practices between the contingents of both the countries,” the Army said in a statement.
“The exercise will be yet another milestone in strengthening security cooperation and will serve to reinforce the longstanding bond of friendship between India and Russia,” it added.
It said the Indian Army contingent participating in the exercise will comprise a mechanised infantry battalion.
Volgograd is a major Russian city situated on the western bank of the Volga river.

A total 333 private companies have been issued 539 industrial licences for defence production in India and out of these, 110 companies have started production.

In a written reply to Vijay Pal Singh Tomar in the Rajya Sabha on Monday, Minister of State for Defence Ajay Bhatt said that the defence industry sector, which was hitherto reserved for the public sector, was opened up to 100 per cent for Indian private sector participation in May, 2001. Thereafter, many measures have been taken by the government to promote private sector participation.

Out of the total capital acquisition budget for the year 2021-22, 64.09 per cent has been earmarked for domestic capital procurement, while the defence capital outlay has been increased by 18.75 per cent in the Budget for FY 2021-22, the minister informed.

The Defence Procurement Procedure-2016 has been revised as Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP)-2020, which is driven by the tenets of the defence reforms announced as part of the ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’ (self-reliant India campaign), Bhatt said.

In order to promote indigenous design and development of defence equipment, the ‘Buy’ (Indian-IDDM or Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured) category has been accorded top most priority for procurement of capital equipment, he said.

The ministry has notified a ‘Positive indigenisation list’ of 209 items for which there would be an embargo on the import beyond the timeline indicated against them.

This would offer a great opportunity to the Indian defence industry to manufacture these items using their own design and development capabilities to meet the requirements of the armed forces in the coming years, Bhatt said.

Beijing: As China continues with hydropower projects on the Yarlung Tsangpo River, concerns are rising in the lower riparian nations regarding the impact of these projects on the river, which is one of the crucial sources of freshwater for India and Bangladesh.
Yarlung Tsangpo is a lifeline for a significant population in these countries. It originates at the southeast of Mount Kailash and Manasarovar in Tibet and is the upper stream of the Brahmaputra river. It later flows through the South Tibet Valley and Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon before passing through the state of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam in India.
Finally, it flows down into Bangladesh where it is referred to as the Jamuna River. Lower riparian nations both India and Bangladesh are particularly dependent upon the river for power, fishing and irrigation purposes.
Experts believe that they are now under serious threat due to the many small and big hydropower projects rampantly being executed by China.
A Toronto-based think tank International Forum for Rights and Security (IFFRAS) has argued that the construction of these hydropower dams without consideration of upstream and downstream ecosystems and landscapes has a significant economic and environmental bearing on the location of the project, the adjoining and far-away regions as well.
Experts say that the potential to have major political and environmental implications in Arunachal Pradesh and Assam in India, the states that are dependent on the Brahmaputra River, and in the country, Bangladesh.
The think tank said China also sees this hydropower project as an attempt to safeguard its national security and parochially retain its natural sources for its own disposal.
“Admittedly, the location of the hydropower project is such that it is prone to earthquakes and floods caused by landslides. Thus, the project is likely to further add on to the existing miseries of the people downstream of this river basin.”
Furthermore, the aquatic species of the river which adds to the river’s biodiversity are bound to affect by all these activities.
According to the experts, China is working towards its own advantage by exercising complete control and depriving the lower riparian countries, India and Bangladesh of their requisite water supply, particularly during the summers when the water is scarce.
The main issue of lower riparian nations is concern regarding floods. “It is pertinent to note that dams in China would also trap the sediments and deprive the Brahmaputra basin of the much needed silt which is responsible for making the plains in the region fertile. Silt also helps restrain the flow in a way that floods are less destructive and seemingly more controlled,” the think tank said.

Private player Kalyani Defence manufactured Garud-V2 55 X 39mm indigenous howitzer
by Savio Rodrigues
The Defence Industry sector, which was hitherto reserved for the public sector, was opened up to 100% for Indian private sector participation in May, 2001. As on date, 333 Private companies have been issued a total of 539 Industrial Licenses. Out of these, 110 companies have reported commencement of production.
Further, following measures have been taken by the Government to promote private sector participation in Defence sector –
Out of the total Capital Acquisition Budget for the year 2021-22, 64.09% has been earmarked for domestic capital procurement.
Defence capital outlay has been increased by 18.75 % in the budget of 2021 – 22.
DPP-2016 has been revised as Defence Acquisition Procedure (DAP)- 2020, which is driven by the tenets of Defence Reforms announced as part of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’.
In order to promote indigenous design and development of defence equipment ‘Buy {Indian-IDDM (Indigenously Designed, Developed and Manufactured)}’ category has been accorded top most priority for procurement of capital equipment.
Positive Indigenisation List: 
Ministry of Defence has notified a ‘Positive indigenisation list’ of 209 items for which there would be an embargo on the import beyond the timeline indicated against them. This would offer a great opportunity to the Indian defence industry to manufacture these items using their own design and development capabilities to meet the requirements of the Armed Forces in the coming years.
The ‘Make’ Procedure of capital procurement has been simplified. There is a provision for funding upto 70% of development cost by the Government to Indian industry under Make-I category. In addition, there are specific reservations for MSMEs under the ‘Make’ procedure.
Procedure for ‘Make-II’ category (Industry funded), introduced in DPP 2016 to encourage indigenous development and manufacture of defence equipment has number of industry friendly provisions such as relaxation of eligibility criterion, minimal documentation, provision for considering proposals suggested by industry/individual etc. So far, 58 projects relating to Army, Navy & Air Force, have been accorded ‘Approval in Principle’.
The Government of India has enhanced FDI in Defence Sector up to 74% through the Automatic Route for companies seeking new defence industrial license and up to 100% by Government Route wherever it is likely to result in access to modern technology or for other reasons to be recorded.
An innovation ecosystem for Defence titled Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) has been launched in April 2018. iDEX is aimed at creation of an ecosystem to foster innovation and technology development in Defence and Aerospace by engaging Industries including MSMEs, Start-ups, Individual Innovators, R&D institutes and Academia and provide them grants/funding and other support to carry out R&D which has potential for future adoption for Indian defence and aerospace needs.
To give a major boost to development of innovative defence technology and support a growing Start-Up base in the country, MoD has earmarked Rs 1,000 crore during 2021 – 22 for the procurement from the iDEX Start-Ups.
Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence has also approved a scheme for Innovation in Defence Excellence (iDEX) during current year worth Rs 498 crore for 5 years. The scheme aims to benefit 300 new Startups for innovative design and development in defence sector.
An indigenization portal namely SRIJAN has been launched in August 2020 for DPSUs/OFB/Services with an industry interface to provide development support to MSMEs/Start-Ups/Industry for import substitution.
Reforms in Offset policy have been included in DAP 2020, with thrust on attracting investment and Transfer of Technology for Defence manufacturing, by assigning higher multipliers to them.
Government has notified the ‘Strategic Partnership (SP)’ Model in May 2017, which envisages establishment of long-term strategic partnerships with Indian entities through a transparent and competitive process, wherein they would tie up with global Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to seek technology transfers to set up domestic manufacturing infrastructure and supply chains.
Government has notified a ‘Policy for indigenisation of components and spares used in Defence Platforms’ in March 2019 with the objective to create an industry ecosystem which is able to indigenize the imported components (including alloys & special materials) and sub-assemblies for defence equipment and platform manufactured in India.
Government has established two Defence Industrial Corridors, one each in Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. The investments of Rs 20,000 Cr have been envisaged in Defence corridors of Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu by the year 2024. So far, investment of approx. Rs 3342 Cr has been made in both the corridors by public as well private sector companies. Moreover, the respective State Governments have also announced their Aerospace &Defence Policies to attract private players as well as foreign companies including Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) in these two corridors.
An Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) on “Mutual Cooperation in Joint Manufacturing of Spares, Components, Aggregates and other material related to Russian/Soviet Origin Arms and Defence Equipment” was signed in Sep 2019. The objective of the IGA is to enhance the After Sales Support and operational availability of Russian origin equipment currently in service in Indian Armed Forces by organizing production of spares and components in the territory of India by Indian Industry by way of creation of Joint Ventures/Partnership with Russian Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) under the framework of the “Make in India” initiative.
Defence Products list requiring Industrial Licenses has been rationalised and manufacture of most of parts or components does not require Industrial License. The initial validity of the Industrial License granted under the IDR Act has been increased from 03 years to 15 years with a provision to further extend it by 03 years on a case-to-case basis.
Department of Defence Production has notified 46 items under the latest Public Procurement Order 2017 notified by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), for which there is sufficient local capacity and competition and procurement of these items shall be done from local suppliers only irrespective of the purchase value.
Defence Investor Cell (DIC) has been created in Feb-2018 in the Ministry to provide all necessary information including addressing queries related to investment opportunities, procedures and regulatory requirements for investment in the sector. As on date, 1182 queries had been received and addressed by Defence Investor Cell.

L&T testing the AMOGH an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle
With regard to naval operations, underwater domain awareness (UDA) is one of the most critical areas for India, Chief of the Naval Staff Admiral Karambir Singh said on 23 July. Vice Chief of Naval Staff Vice Admiral Ashok Kumar said that to exploit the potential of unmanned technologies and platforms, the Navy had approved an “unmanned road map”.
Chief of the Indian Naval Staff Admiral Karambir Singh said: “For instance, the discovery of ‘Chinese-origin’ autonomous underwater gliders in the Indonesian waters indicate the extent to which underwater technologies are being harnessed for military advantage by China”. “The U.S. too has made rapid advances in this field, and have given some exposure to their technologies and system that we too wish to pursue”.
L&T is developing a number of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles(AUVs) , L&T displayed the Amogh, Adamya & the Maya AUVs in DefExpo 2020
The focus towards Theatre and Strategic ASW is inevitable and vital: “Advancements in Theatre and Strategic ASW would lead to advantageous outcomes in our favour, allowing us to deploy our capabilities in the right place at the right time,” Admiral Singh stressed.
Vice Adm. Kumar said the Navy had understood the importance of unmanned solutions and recently envisioned a detailed road map for itself in this realm. “We also intend to share with industry what we need, by when, at what cost and in what numbers, so that, potential collaborators understand the users’ vision and align to the needs.”
In the last couple of years, it was decided to adopt Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUVs) to cut down on the requirement of minesweepers. Vice Admiral Kumar said that as the industry developed UUVs for military purposes, it is imperative to consider their compatibility with the existing manned platforms as a critical deliverable. Vice Admiral Kumar listed out four categories of UUVs- man-portable Autonomous Unmanned Vehicles (AUVs) with swarm functionality with an endurance of the order of 10 to 20 hours, lightweight AUVs compatible with the existing lightweight torpedo tubes onboard ships and endurance of about two days, heavyweight AUVs compatible with the existing heavyweight tubes and endurance of the order of 3 to 4 days, and high endurance AUVs with a capability of at least 15 days submerged endurance.

The US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s visit ahead of Foreign Ministerial Quad talks later this year is another indication of how important the US-India bilateral relationship has become for regional and global stability. The agenda of the visit starting today (July 27, 2021) is expected to focus on various aspects of regional and international security as well as further enhancing defence relations.
Over the weekend, sources had confirmed to Financial Express Online: “Defence transfers and technologies, more drills, policy exchanges as well as exploring ways and means to further deepen collaboration in the defence domain is on the agenda of talks.” Later this year the 4th round of 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue is scheduled to take place in DC. Both defence Minister Rajnath Singh and external affairs minister Dr S Jaishankar will travel to the US to attend this meeting.
India-US Military Cooperation
Both countries have agreed to pursue enhanced cooperation with the US Indo-Pacific Command and other Commands.
“With the foundational agreements, LEMOA, COMCASA, and BECA, in place and India gaining entry into MTCR the governments are discussing the steps to be taken to understand their full potential for mutual benefit. The long pending acquisition of 30 Sea Guardian unmanned aircraft worth approximately USD 3 billion for the Indian Navy, Indian Army and the Indian Air Force brings various elements of this strategic partnership,” sources told Financial Express Online.
When Was The First Mention of Guardian Made?
It was publicly made in 2017 in the White House joint government statement issued in Washington DC when Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited that country.
The drones will come with different configurations as the payloads for each service is different. In 2020, during the ongoing standoff between the armies of India and China, the Indian Navy had leased two Sea Guardian drones from the US Company General Atomic.
According to reports, the outgoing Indian Navy Vice Chief Vice Admiral G Ashok Kumar has talked about the AoN for the Sea Guardians to come soon. “These MQ-9 Sea Guardian drones will help the Indian Navy to keep a close watch on any vessel of interest operating in the Indian Ocean Region.”
Last week, India also took delivery of the first two Lockheed Martin-Sikorsky MH60R multi-role helicopters (MRH) in San Diego, California. These helicopters will soon join the Indian Navy.
QUAD: The Common Thread In These Major Defence Deals
Japan, Australia, India, and the United States have been increasingly wanting to cooperate in the various economic and security domains.
As has been reported by Financial Express Online earlier, the negotiations for three major assets of the Indian Navy (P8I, MH-60R helicopters, Sea Guardian Drones) were spearheaded by world renowned scientist Dr Vivek Lall. He has been the architect of significant US-India Military trade in the last decade. He has played a very important role in further expanding the military sales between the two countries. As US India Business Council Board member Dr Lall was recently part of an interaction with Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for boosting bilateral investment and economic growth.
As a Board member of the US Japan Business Council, Dr Lall has also interacted with Prime Minister Suga of Japan on bilateral economic growth. The Quad heads of state recently said “We will begin cooperation on the critical technologies of the future to make sure that innovation is in line with a free, open, inclusive, and resilient Indo-Pacific.”
The QUAD (the US, Japan, India and Australia) are already operating P-8I, MH-60R helicopters too. India has recently received two MH-60R and is awaiting its arrival. Also, all the QUAD countries are interested in the Sea Guardian drones.
Interoperability
As is known the Indian Navy is already flying the P-8I that has come from the US aerospace company for the carrying out anti-submarine warfare and surveillance. And when the Sea Guardians drones deal is done, they will further strengthen the Indian Navy’s maritime reconnaissance. And it will be able to expand its area of surveillance and monitoring of the IOR as well as coastal boundaries and assets.
Indian Navy will become more potent with the Sea Guardian Drones flying in sync with the P8I as well as the MH60R helicopters.
Defence Deals In The Pipeline
India and the US are in discussions for Raytheon’s National Advanced Surface to Air Missile System-II; BAE Systems Naval Guns and the Sea Guardian Drones.
The Trump administration had also offered Patriot Advanced Capability (PAC-3) missile defence systems to India.