• India and the United States have signed an agreement for cooperation in the development of Air-Launched Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (ALUAV).

• The project agreement for ALUAV was signed under the overall framework of the Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI).

• The pact was signed between the ministry of defence and the US department of defence.

Highlights of the agreement:

• The agreement is the inaugural co-development project under the US-India Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI), a bilateral defence cooperation mechanism that promotes collaborative technology exchange, strengthens cooperative research, and enables co-production /co-development of defence systems for sustainment and modernisation of military forces.

• The project is valued at more than $22 million with costs shared equally. 

• It marks the largest-ever defence Research, Development, Test and Evaluation (RDT&E) collaboration between both countries. The India-US Research, Development, Testing and Evaluation (RDT&E) agreement was first signed in 2006 and renewed in January 2015.

• The co-development project will be carried out jointly between the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and the US Air Force Research Lab (AFRL).

• The objectives are the design, development, demonstration, test and evaluation of technologies including physical hardware such as small UAVs, avionics, payload power, propulsion, and launch systems through prototyping that meet the operational requirements of the Indian and US Air Forces. 

India-US defence cooperation

• The Indo-US defence ties have been on an upswing in the last few years.

• Defence relationship has emerged as a major pillar of India-US Strategic Partnership with intensification in defence trade, joint exercises, personnel exchanges, and cooperation in maritime security and counter-piracy.

• A key pact called General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) was signed by the two countries in 2002. The GSOMIA provides for specific measures to ensure security standards for safeguarding critical information shared by the US with India.

• India-US defence cooperation is based on “New Framework for India-US Defence Cooperation”, which was renewed in 2015 for a period of 10 years.

• In June 2016, the US recognised India as a ‘Major Defence Partner’ to facilitate technology sharing to a level commensurate with that of its allies and partners. 

• India’s elevation to Tier-I of the Strategic Trade Authorisation (STA) license exception in 2018 facilitates interaction in advanced and sensitive technologies.  

• Defence procurements from the US have been an area of steady growth in the last decade. India has procured defence items of around $21 billion from the US since 2008. The defence procurement activities are monitored through the Defence Production and Procurement Group.

• Under the US-India Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI), Joint Working Groups on land, naval, air, and aircraft carrier technologies have been established to focus on mutually agreed projects in respective domains.

• India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue, led by the heads of foreign and defence ministries of both countries, reviews the bilateral ties in defence, strategic and security domains as well as important regional and global issues.

• The two countries have also inked key defence and security pacts over the past few years. 

Some of them are:

• The Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) signed in August 2016 allows their militaries to use each other’s bases for repair and replenishment of supplies as well as provides for deeper cooperation.

• COMCASA (Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement) signed in 2018 provides for interoperability between the two militaries and the sale of high-end technology from the US to India.

• In October 2020, India and the US sealed the BECA (Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement) agreement to further boost bilateral defence ties. The pact provides for sharing of high-end military technology, logistics and geospatial maps between the two countries. 

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