US working on Arms-Aid Package for India
STORIES, ANALYSES, EXPERT VIEWS
According to a senior US official, the US is preparing a military aid package for India to deepen security ties and reduce the country’s dependence on Russian weapons.
The package under consideration would include foreign military financing of as much as $500 million, according to the official, which would make India one of the largest recipients of such aid behind Israel and Egypt. It’s unclear when the deal would be announced, or what weapons would be included.
US wants to wean India away from dependence on Russia
Washington wants to be seen as a reliable partner for India across the board, the official added, and the administration is working with other nations including France to make sure Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has the equipment it needs. While India is already diversifying its military platforms away from Russia, the US wants to help make that happen faster, the official said.
The major challenge remains how to provide India major platforms like fighter jets, naval ships and battle tanks, the official said, adding that the administration is looking for a breakthrough in one of these areas. The financing package being discussed would do little to make those types of systems -- which can cost billions or tens of billions of dollars -- more affordable, but it would be a significant symbolic sign of support.
India is the world’s largest buyer of Russian weapons, although it has scaled back that relationship of late. Over the past decade, India has bought more than $4 billion worth of military equipment from the US and more than $25 billion from Russia, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, which collects data on arms transfers.
Still, it remains to be seen how far India will go in accepting US military assistance. Russia has historically supplied the majority of India’s military hardware, including fighter jets and missiles, as well as almost all its tanks and helicopters. Modi’s government has told the US the alternatives to moving away completely from Russian weapons imports are too expensive, according to people familiar with the situation.
Pentagon briefing on India to US Senate Armed Services Committee
Meanwhile, Lt Gen Scott Berrier, Director, Defense Intelligence Agency, US told members of the Senate Armed Services Committee during a recent Congressional hearing, that by June 2022, India intends to deploy the S-400 missile defence system that it has received from Russia to defend itself against threat from Pakistan and China. “In December, India received its initial delivery of the Russian S-400 air defence system, and it intends to operate the system to defend against Pakistani and Chinese threats by June 2022,” Berrier said.
India ‘pursuing an extensive military modernisation effort’: “India continued to develop its own hypersonic, ballistic, cruise, and air defence missile capabilities, conducting multiple tests in 2021. India has a growing number of satellites in orbit, and it is expanding its use of space assets, likely pursuing offensive space capabilities,” he said.
Berrier told lawmakers that New Delhi is pursuing an extensive military modernisation effort encompassing air, ground, naval, and strategic nuclear forces with an emphasis on domestic defence production.
India is taking steps to establish Integrated Theatre Commands that will improve its joint capability among its three military services.
Since 2019, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has given priority to strengthen India’s economy by expanding its domestic defence industry, and establishing a negative import list to curtail defence purchases from foreign suppliers.
India’s longstanding defence relationship with Russia: “India’s longstanding defence relationship with Russia remains strong, holding their first ‘2 2’ format talks in December — a joint foreign and defence ministerial that India previously only held with the United States, Japan, and Australia.
‘Chinese-Indian relations remain strained’: Berrier said that Chinese-Indian relations remain strained following the fatal clashes in summer 2020 between their respective forces along the Western sector of the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
During 2021, both sides held multiple rounds of high-level diplomatic and military talks that resulted in a mutual pullback of forces from several standoff points. However, both sides maintain close to 50,000 troops along with artillery, tanks, and multiple rocket launchers, and both are building infrastructure along the LAC, he said.
On the Indo-Pacific: According to Berrier, throughout 2021, New Delhi continued to implement foreign policy aimed at demonstrating India’s role as a leading power and net provider of security in the Indian Ocean region.
India seeks to promote prosperity and ensure stability in the Indo-Pacific region by seeking strategic partnerships to build influence through bilateral and multilateral mechanisms such as the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), he said.
