India, US working on pact to deepen air force ties

Secretary of US Air Force Frank Kendall said India and the United States are working on the Air Information Sharing Agreement that envisages exchanging information on what the two air forces do together

NEW DELHI: India and the US are working on a new agreement to deepen the cooperation between their air forces, secretary of US Air Force Frank Kendall said on Tuesday, the development coming almost a year after the two countries announced the Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (ICET) to expand bilateral strategic technology partnership and defence industrial cooperation.

Secretary of US Air Force Frank Kendall said there were a raft of areas in which the two sides could work together including space; ISR technology; fighter jets and engine technology (Twitter)

The two sides are working on the Air Information Sharing Agreement that envisages exchanging information on what the two air forces do together, said Kendall, who held wide-ranging talks with senior Indian officials on strengthening the bilateral relationship and identifying areas for cooperation.

“Great to catch up with an old friend, US Secretary of Air Force Frank Kendall. Discussed the global strategic scenario and new opportunities for India-US defense cooperation,” external affairs minister S Jaishankar tweeted.

Kendall said there were a raft of areas in which the two sides could work together including space; intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) technology; fighter jets and engine technology.

US engine maker General Electric (GE) is exploring the possibility of producing jet engines for fighter planes made in India. “The GE offer for engine technology is in some ways a breakthrough. I hope we can work together, and India can find a way to take this forward,” he said.

In January, the national security advisers of the two countries led the inaugural meeting of the ICET in Washington. The two sides discussed opportunities for enhancing cooperation in critical and emerging technologies, and co-development and coproduction of systems.

India and the US have signed four major agreements to enhance defence cooperation. These are the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA), the Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA), the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA), and the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA).