US-India defence talks in Washington yield positive results: Technology transfer and more

Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar's Washington visit has apparently yielded positive results as the US has reportedly shown willingness to work with India on an engine for the fifth-generation Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA).

The US was previously unwilling to transfer strategic technology, while the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) had been eager to work with General Electric (GE) Aviation for upgrading its F-414S6 engine to F-414 for the AMCA, according to Business Standard.

For GE, this  could be a profitable venture as it will be expected to create engines for the Tejas Mark I and Tejas Mark II.

India is also set to commission the aircraft carrier INS Vikrant in 2017-18, and is looking to design a second carrier that is larger and indigenously created, reported DefenceNews.

During Parrikar's official trip to the US during 7-10 December, he visited multiple US facilities, including the US Pacific Command (PACOM), the Pentagon, and the aircraft carrier USS Dwight D Eisenhower with US Secretary of Defence Ash Carter to observe flight operations, according to a joint statement by the US and India.

Discussions about furthering the Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI) also took place. According to the statement, both Parrikar and Carter expressed satisfaction with the progress of the DTTI and on the Jet Engine Technology Joint Working Group (JETJWG), which met in December in Bengaluru.

However, diplomatic sources said Parrikar was unhappy about the progress of the Raven hand-held unmanned aerial vehicle and roll-on-roll-off modules for C-130 transport aircraft which are being worked on by private companies, reports Hindustan Times.

As a move towards improving cooperation for security measures, India will be participating in 2016 at the Rim-of-the-Pacific (RIMPAC) multilateral naval exercise in 2016 while the Indian Air Force will be a part of the multilateral Red Flag exercise in April-May.

Discussions about security issues like Isis and entities such as Al-Qaeda and its affiliates, Lashkar-e-Toibba, Jaish-e-Mohammad, D Company, the Haqqani Network, and other regional terror groups, were also held.