US, India agree to repair American warships

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden announced a series of Defence and commercial deals which is designed to improve military and economic ties between India and the US during the state visit to the White House on June 22. 

General Electric plans to jointly manufacture F414 engines with state-owned Indian firm Hindustan Aeronautics for the Tejas light-combat aircraft, as part of an effort to improve defence- and technology-sharing as China becomes more assertive in the Indo-Pacific, The Japan Times reports.

Biden and Modi also announced new defence collaborations, including progress on an order for MQ-9B SeaGuardian drones made by General Atomics, and an agreement that will allow US Navy ships to undertake major repairs at Indian shipyards.

And the two leaders debuted a series of semiconductor deals designed to take advantage of Indian subsidies intended to bring advanced technology manufacturing to the South Asian nation.

“We are doubling down on our cooperation to secure our semiconductors, our semiconductor supply chains, advancing open RAN telecommunications networks, and growing our major defence partnership with more joint exercises, more cooperation between our defence industries, and more consultation and coordination across all domains,” Biden told reporters following the talks.

Micron Technology is investing more than $800 million toward a $2.75 billion semiconductor assembly and testing facility in India, while Applied Materials will announce a new semiconductor centre for commercialization and innovation. Chip manufacturer Lam Research is announcing a training program in India for up to 60,000 engineers.

“We have transitioned today to a relationship involving the transfer of technology, co-development and co-production,” Modi said, heralding the GE deal as a “landmark agreement.”

Indian companies also plan more than $2 billion in projects in the United States, including a solar manufacturing facility in Colorado, a steel plant in Ohio, and an optic fibre facility in South Carolina.

The accords unfold as India has sought to increase its engagement on the global stage both diplomatically and economically, senior US officials, who detailed the plans before their official announcement on the condition of anonymity, said in a call with reporters.

The announcements — which also include closer cooperation between the countries’ space programs as well as efforts by the US to make visas easier for Indian workers to obtain — occurred on a day of elaborate pageantry for Modi, who is attending his first-ever official state visit at the White House.