India USA Signs Air Launched UAV Co Development Project Agreement

Table of Contents

Indo-US defence cooperation

Indo-US Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI) mechanism launched in 2012.
Joint Strategic Vision for the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean Region in 2015. (Later on Trump’s Indo Pacific paradigm).
Comprehensive Global Strategic Partnership with a 2+2 dialogue framework.
S. categorised India as “a Major Defence Partner” in 2016 formalized through National Defense Authorisation Act (2017).

The Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI) mechanism was launched in 2012. DTTI is a flexible mechanism to ensure that senior leaders from our nations are persistently focused on the opportunities and challenges associated with growing our defense partnership.
The DTTI aimed to:
- Transform the bilateral defense relationship
- Strengthen India’s defense industrial base by moving away from the traditional “buyer-seller” dynamic
- Explore new areas of technological collaboration
- Focus on co-development and co-production
- Expand U.S.-Indian business ties

In October 2019, as part of efforts to revive the DTTI the two sides had agreed on a joint statement of intent to deepen defence technology cooperation which also outlined specific short, middle and long-term projects under the DTTI.

India and USA have signed a Project Agreement (PA) for Air-Launched Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (ALUAV) under the ambit of the Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI).
The PA was signed between the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and U.S. Department of Defence (DoD) by the co-chairs of the Joint Working Group (JWG) on Air Systems.
The Project agreement has outlined the collaboration between Air Force Research Laboratory, Indian Air Force, and Defence Research and Development Organisation and US DoD towards design, development, demonstration, testing and evaluation of systems to co-develop an ALUAV prototype.
It is a very significant step towards deepening defence technology collaboration between the two nations through co-development of defence equipment.