Why is Rajnath's US visit special, what major agreements were made regarding defense?

By Newscrab Editor Aug 23, 2024, 20:42 IST

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh is on a four-day visit to the US to further promote the comprehensive global strategic partnership between India and the US. Rajnath Singh will be on a visit to the US from 23 to 26 August. At the same time, the US visit of the Defence Minister is very important for HAL, because during this time emphasis is being laid on early delivery of the GE-F404 jet engine. Regarding this, India and the US have signed the SOSA agreement today on 22 August.

The main objective of this visit of the Defense Minister is to strengthen the comprehensive global strategic partnership between India and the US. During this, India has signed two important defense agreements with the US:

  • Security of Supply Management (SOSA): This is a bilateral and non-binding agreement, under which both countries will give each other priority for goods and services required for national defense. The US has signed this agreement with only 18 countries so far.
  • Appointment of Liaisoning Officers: Under this agreement, officers will be appointed to increase cooperation between the two countries.

Engine deliveries expected to accelerate

Under the SOSA agreement, the delivery of GE-404 jet engines for the Indian Air Force's indigenous light combat aircraft Tejas is expected to be expedited. As of now, the IAF has not received any delivery of Tejas Mk-1A, but the engines are likely to be delivered by October once the SOSA is signed.

Apart from this, Rajnath Singh may also negotiate a $2 billion deal for 31 MQ-9B drones from General Atomics and a license to manufacture GE F414 engines for the LCA-Mk2

Final talks on a deal for armed drones, and jet engines!

The Defence Minister may also hold file talks in the US today regarding the $2 billion deal for 31 MQ-9B High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from General Atomics as well as the license deal to manufacture GE F414 engines in India for LCA-MK2 which is in its final stages.