Obama in India: Can India-US defence ties go ballistic with new deal?

NEW DELHI: The rapprochement, after the estrangement following the 1998 Pokhran-II tests, led to the first 10-year Indo-US defence framework in 2005. It promised a lot, from collaboration on multinational operations in their "common interest" to ballistic missile defence. But not everything translated into reality.

The framework did lead to arms deals, combat exercises, intelligence-sharing and counter-terror cooperation. The momentum slowed with A K Antony, UPA defence minister for eight years, blocking a full strategic clinch.

The military ardour will be reinvigorated with the signing of the new 10-year framework during Obama's visit. As TOI reported earlier, it'll be "more ambitious" than the earlier one, but won't impinge on India's strategic autonomy. It'll be "a statement of intent", charting out the road to boost defence ties. From stepped-up maritime security collaboration in the Asia-Pacific, intelligence-sharing, drive against terror and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction to increasing the scope of joint exercises, it'll have all.

"But it's not a treaty binding on either side," said an official. India will upgrade its high-end Malabar naval exercise with America, both looking at including others like Japan and Australia more often. Despite its worries over China, India doesn't want to act as "linchpin" in the "rebalance" of US military forces towards the Asia-Pacific.

A key element will be incorporation of the Defence Trade and Technology Initiative (DTTI) to help India build its defence-industrial manufacturing base. The US is hardselling "transformative technology" for co-development and co-production, ranging from Javelin anti-tank guided missiles and MH-60 Romeo copters, to long-endurance UAVs and 127mm warship guns.

India will launch DTTI with some "not-very-complex systems" like mini-UAVs, to ascertain how they work out. Officials say the "systems" to be produced in India should be open to exports for long-term sustainability. Despite the deal, India will continue working with Russia. USA may've supplanted Russia as India's biggest defence supplier but Russia has a huge presence here.