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India, US sign two pacts to deepen defence cooperation

ByRahul Singh
Aug 23, 2024 06:27 PM IST

SOSA comes four years after India and the US signed the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA), the last of four so-called foundational agreements to boost defence cooperation

New Delhi: India and the United States have signed an agreement to ensure the mutual supply of defence goods and services to enable the acquisition of the industrial resources they need from one another to resolve unanticipated supply chain disruptions and meet national security needs, the Pentagon announced. 

Additional secretary and director general (acquisition), ministry of defence Samir Kumar Sinha with principal deputy assistant secretary for industrial base policy, US department of defence, Dr Vic Ramdass (X/@SpokespersonMoD)
Additional secretary and director general (acquisition), ministry of defence Samir Kumar Sinha with principal deputy assistant secretary for industrial base policy, US department of defence, Dr Vic Ramdass (X/@SpokespersonMoD)

Vic Ramdass, the American principal deputy assistant secretary of defence for industrial base policy, and Indian defence ministry’s additional secretary and director general (acquisitions) Samir Kumar Sinha signed the non-binding Security of Supply Arrangement (SOSA) on Thursday. 

The pact will allow India and the US to request priority delivery of goods and services from defence firms in both countries for executing contracts and subcontracts. 

The two sides also signed a memorandum of agreement regarding the assignment of liaison officers to deepen defence cooperation, the defence ministry said on Friday. This agreement seeks to enhance cooperation, understanding, interoperability, and sharing of information on matters of mutual interest. 

The two agreements were signed on the day defence minister Rajnath Singh arrived in Washington on a four-day official visit. 

“SOSA represents a pivotal moment in the US-India Major Defense Partner relationship and will be a key factor in strengthening the Defense Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI),” the Pentagon stated. 

It further quoted Ramdass saying, “I look forward to the next DTTI meeting this fall to deepen cooperation between our respective defense industrial bases and pursue bilateral co-development, co-production, and co-sustainment initiatives.” 

In 2023, the two countries concluded a new road map for future defence industrial cooperation with the goal of fast-tracking technology cooperation and co-production in critical areas in a renewed push for deepening collaboration. The areas included air combat and land mobility systems, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, munitions, and the undersea domain. 

India is the 18th SOSA partner of the US after Australia, Canada, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. 

SOSA comes four years after India and the US signed the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA), the last of four so-called foundational agreements to boost defence cooperation. 

The two sides have been sharing real-time intelligence under the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA), which was signed in 2018. The two countries signed the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) in 2016. 

In 2019, India and the US signed the Industrial Security Annex to shore up defence cooperation. It allows the US government and American original equipment manufacturers to share classified information with private Indian defence firms. Before this, the US could share such information only with the Indian government and public sector undertakings under the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) signed in 2002. 

“The US will provide India assurances under the US Defense Priorities and Allocations System (DPAS), with program determinations by the Department of Defense (DoD) and rating authorisation by the Department of Commerce (DOC). India will in turn establish a government-industry Code of Conduct with its industrial base, where Indian firms will voluntarily agree to make every reasonable effort to provide the US priority support,” the statement on SOSA said. 

With an expanding global supply chain, SOSAs are a key mechanism for DoD to strengthen interoperability with US defence trade partners, it said. “The arrangements institute working groups, establish communication mechanisms, streamline DoD processes, and proactively act to allay anticipated supply chain issues in peacetime, emergencies, and armed conflict. They are also a useful tool in developing investment strategies to ensure redundancy and security,” the statement added. 

Supply chain bottlenecks can delay defence projects. 

For instance, the Tejas light combat aircraft (LCA Mk-1A) project to strengthen the Indian Air Force’s capabilities is running behind schedule. Many in the air force are sceptical about the LCA Mk-1A deadlines being met, and one of the main reasons for that is the lingering delay in the supply of the F404 engines to Hindustan Aeronautics Limited by US firm GE Aerospace. The delivery of the engines is delayed by around 10 months. 

GE Aerospace earlier said it is working with HAL to fix issues related to the delay in the supply of its F4O4 engines for the LCA Mk-1A programme, attributing it to supply chain bottlenecks in the aerospace industry.

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