10 Years. 2 Democracies. Unlimited Firepower: Inside the Indo-US Defence Blueprint

India and the United States are preparing to sign a new 10-year defence framework, reinforcing their status as strategic partners in the Indo-Pacific. The announcement came after a high-level phone call between Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on July 1, 2025, with the Pentagon confirming the agreement in an official statement the next day.

 

The framework will build on the February 2025 joint declaration by PM Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump, which emphasized deeper cooperation in interoperability, joint exercises, logistics sharing, and defence industrial integration. Singh urged Hegseth to expedite delivery of GE F404 jet engines for the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft and finalize a joint production deal for F414 engines between HAL and GE Aerospace.

 

The two leaders also reviewed pending US defence sales, including Apache helicopters, Javelin missiles, and Stryker vehicles, and discussed expanding co-production networks. External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar echoed the sentiment in a separate Pentagon meeting, calling the defence partnership “one of the most consequential pillars” of India-US ties.

 

Key Highlights:

 

Framework Signing: Expected during Singh-Hegseth’s next in-person meet this year.

 

Industrial Push: Focus on joint manufacturing and tech transfer.

 

Military Integration: Enhanced training, exercises, and equipment interoperability.

 

Geopolitical Context: Aimed at countering aggression in the Indo-Pacific.

 

This pact signals a long-term commitment to shared security goals and a robust defence supply chain between the two democracies.

 

Sources: The Hindu, Indian Express, US Department of Defense