A cooperative engine manufacturing deal will be signed and announced during President Biden’s state visit to Prime Minister Modi on June 22.
According to three persons briefed on the decision, the Biden administration will approve a contract allowing General Electric Co to manufacture jet engines for Indian military aircraft in that nation.
An agreement concluding joint manufacturing of the engines is anticipated to be signed and revealed by the time President Joe Biden receives Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for an official state visit on June 22, according to people who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the decision has not been made public.
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The White House, which announced in January that it had received the proposal to co-manufacture the engines in India, declined to comment. GE did not reply quickly to a request for comment.
Washington strives to strengthen ties with the world’s largest democracy, seeing stronger military-to-military and technological connections with the South Asian country as a critical counterweight to China’s influence in the region.
India, the world’s largest arms importer, gets about half of its military supplies from Russia and has purchased fighter jets, tanks, nuclear submarines, and an aircraft carrier throughout the years.
New Delhi has irritated Washington by taking part in military drills with Russia and expanding purchases of the country’s crude oil, a major funding source for Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) of India stated that it wanted to employ the GE-manufactured 414 engine on a second generation of light-combat aircraft and was in discussions about the domestic production of those engines.
According to two sources briefed on the agreement, the agreement is not yet finalized and requires notice to the United States Congress.
Washington strictly restricts what domestic military technology can be shared or sold to other countries.
A broader cooperative agreement agreed earlier this year between the United States and India is intended to encourage enterprises from both nations to work, particularly on military equipment and cutting-edge technology.
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While GE has provided some technology transfer to HAL, which will produce the engines as a licensed manufacturer, India is pushing for additional technology sharing, according to one of the people familiar with the discussions.
India is eager to learn how to manufacture aircraft engines. Though it can construct fighter jets on its own, it cannot produce the engines that power them.
