Rajnath Singh Meets US Secretary of Defense, Leaders Agree To Advance Priority Co-Production Projects Including Jet Engines

Lloyd J. Austin III, the US Secretary of Defense, and India’s Defense Minister, Rajnath Singh, convened at the Pentagon to discuss the enhancement of the Major Defense Partnership between the United States and India.

What Happened: The meeting celebrated the progress made in bilateral defence initiatives and discussed ways to further strengthen the partnership. Topics of discussion included increasing supply chain security, enhancing maritime security in the Indian Ocean Region, and strengthening operational coordination through Indian liaison officers at US commands.

The leaders agreed to advance priority co-production projects, such as jet engines, unmanned platforms, munitions, and ground mobility systems, under the U.S.-India Roadmap for Defense Industrial Cooperation. They also discussed expanding cooperation in the undersea and space domains and welcomed the ongoing implementation of the India-U.S. Defense Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS-X), set to hold its third summit in Silicon Valley this September.

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Secretary Austin lauded the Indian Navy’s contributions to upholding freedom of navigation and regional security through its participation in the Combined Maritime Forces. He also welcomed India’s forthcoming leadership role in Combined Task Force 150 in 2025.

The officials reviewed mutual efforts through the Indo-Pacific Maritime Domain Awareness Initiative to provide Indian Ocean Region partners with unclassified, commercial satellite data to enhance their maritime security and ability to detect illicit activity.

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