The US Department of Defense in its report to the US Congress has stated that the relationship between the United States and India – what President Obama has called one of the defining partnerships of the 21stcentury – is a priority for the US Government and for the US Department of Defense (DoD).

It said in its report that “The US and India are natural partners, destined to be closer because of shared interests and values and our mutual desire for a stable and secure world. A strong bilateral partnership is in US interests and benefits both countries. We expect India’s importance to US interests to grow in the long-run as India, a major regional and emerging global power, increasingly assumes roles commensurate with its position as a stakeholder and a leader in the international system.”

Current state of US-India security cooperation

“Over the past decade, there has been a rapid transformation in the US-India defence relationship. What was once a nascent relationship between unfamiliar nations has now evolved into a strategic partnership between two of the pre-eminent security powers in Asia. Today, US-India defence ties are strong and growing.Our defence relationship involves a robust slate of dialogues, military exercises, defence trade, personnel exchanges, and armaments cooperation. Our efforts over the past 10 years have focused on relationship-building and establishing the foundation for a long-term partnership. The strong ties between our two militaries reflect this.

“The US remains committed to a broad defence trade relationship that enables transfers of some of our most advanced technologies.”

Frameworks for cooperation

“The 2005 New Framework Agreement provides the overarching structure for the US-India defence relationship. The Defence Policy Group (DPG), chaired by the US Under Secretary of Defense for Policy and the Indian Defence Secretary, is at the apex of the bilateral defence relationship.In addition to facilitating dialogue on issues of mutual interest, the DPG sets priorities for defence cooperation, reviews progress annually, and directs adjustments as necessary. The 2011 DPG prioritised maritime security, humanitarian assistance/disaster relief (HA/DR), and counterterrorism cooperation.

“Under the DPG umbrella, we have seven subgroups to discuss and advance defence trade, service-to-service cooperation, technical cooperation, and technology security.

“The US-India Counterterrorism Cooperation Initiative (CCI), signed on July 23, 2010, further calls on our countries’ coast guards and navies to increase exchanges on maritime security and cooperate in addressing maritime threats like piracy and terrorism.

Military-to-military relations

“US-India military exercises have grown dramatically in size, scope and sophistication. We now have regular exercises across all services that help to deepen our military and defence relationships. In fiscal year 2011, there were 56 cooperative events across all Services – more than India conducted with any other country.

Navy and Coast Guard: “Naval cooperation between the United States and India helped to lay the groundwork for military-to-military cooperation and our exercises continue to evolve in complexity.Our navies conduct four exercises annually: Malabar, Habu Nag (naval aspects of amphibious operations), Spitting Cobra (explosive ordnance destruction focus), and Salvex (diving and salvage).

Air Force: “Cope India, meant to be held bi-annually, is the primary exercise between our air forces. The last Cope India, held in Agra, in October 2009, focused on mobility operations in a humanitarian assistance scenario. The IAF intends to participate in Red Flagnellis in 2013, likely with both fighters and airborne warning and control system aircraft.”

Operational cooperation

“The US and India have partnered closely on HA/DR. We have incorporated disaster relief scenarios and elements into existing exercises and have established a working group to coordinate disaster relief activities more effectively.

Defence sales: “The US remains committed to being a reliable and transparent defence supplier to India. Since 2002, India has signed more than 20 foreign military sales (FMS) cases for defence articles and services such as C-17 and C-130J aircraft, TPQ-37 radars, self-protection suites (SPS) for VVIP aircraft, specialised tactical equipment, Harpoon missiles.

“Sensor-fuzed weapons, and carrier flight and test pilot school training. In less than a decade, and starting at zero, we have seen the FMS programme grow to a combined total case value of approximately $6 billion.

“The last five years have given us several opportunities to reach a new level of interaction between our militaries through defence trade. The C-130Js delivered beginning in February 2011 are the first US military aircraft to have been delivered to India in half a century.

“Once the C-17 contract is fulfilled, India will operate the second largest fleet of C-17s in the world.

“US and India continue to seek ways to educate each other on our respective procurement and acquisition systems to enable further compatibility. We are working to find ways to adopt processes that will improve efficiency and make it easier for us to cooperate on defence trade.”

Armaments cooperation: “Armaments cooperation is another key component of our defence engagement with India.

India’s capabilities in technology are rapidly improving, particularly in the private sector. In the defence sector, India has over 50 defence laboratories, presenting opportunities for collaboration over a broad range of defense technologies and systems.

“To date, acquisition and technology cooperation between India and the US has been primarily in the exchange of science and technology (S&T) information and collaboration in S&T projects.”

Enhancing US-India security cooperation

“Over the next five years, we will continue to build the support structures necessary to ensure the maturation of a robust and mutually beneficial defence relationship with India in the Asia-Pacific and globally. We will advance the defence relationship by deepening people-to-people ties through continued military-to-military engagements, implementing agreed upon cooperation and pursuing new avenues of collaboration with particular emphasis on maritime security and counterterrorism activities, and expanding defence trade and armaments cooperation.”

Bolstering military-to-military engagements

Combined Exercises: “We plan to conduct increasingly complex joint and combined exercises with a focus on counterterrorism, maritime security, and HA/DR across all of the Services.

“On the counterterrorism front, the US continues to focus on Al-Qaeda and other terrorist threats that emanate from South Asia. For some of these groups, particularly Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT), India remains the primary target. LT’s activities continue to threaten US interests and South Asian regional stability. Therefore, we will continue to follow the guidance of our National Strategy for Counterterrorism which calls for joining with key partners, like India, to share the burdens of our common security goals. In doing so, we will seek to expand counterterrorism cooperation with India, and our current special operations engagements in the region will continue to focus on the mutually beneficial ways in which we can enhance each other’s capabilities.”

Counterterrorism: “The 2010 Counterterrorism Cooperation Initiative opened the door for increased cooperation and collaboration on counterterrorism (CT) issues. We will continue to seek greater cooperation in information-sharing activities as well as in our training, exercises, and exchanges between CT specialists and on CT capabilities. USPACOM seeks to increase its joint combined exchange training exercises with India.”

Expanding defence trade and armaments cooperation

“Over the next five years, the United States will continue to establish itself as a reliable defence supplier to India and look for opportunities to enable further training and exchanges between our militaries as India continues its military modernization. The DoD, along with the Departments of State and Commerce, will advocate for US solutions to Indian defence needs.We recognise that India is also seeking to build its own indigenous defence industry, and is looking for the best technologies to use in its defence sector. The US wants to develop deeper defence industrial cooperation with India, including a range of cooperative research and development activities. The United States is committed to providing India with top-of-the-line technology.”

Joint strike fighter and potential co-development of military weapons systems

“The DoD is continually looking for ways to expand defence cooperation with India. We are seeking opportunities for increased science and technology cooperation that may lead to co-development opportunities with India as a partner.

“India has demonstrated its interest in upgrading its inventory of fighter aircraft. The US F-16 and F-18 competed, but were not down-selected, in the medium multirole combat aircraft (MMRCA) competition in April 2011. Despite this setback, we believe US aircraft, such as the joint strike fighter (JSF), to be the best in the world. Should India indicate interest in the JSF, the United States would be prepared to provide information on the JSF and its requirements (infrastructure, security, etc.) to support India’s future planning.

“The US has taken many steps in recent years to facilitate science and technology and research and development cooperation with India. In so doing, we have signaled our unambiguous intent to pursue cooperative opportunities on increasingly sophisticated systems.

“As our relationship continues to mature, we expect codevelopment of armaments to become a reality.”