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The India-US deal to jointly produce fighter jet engines for the Indian Air Force is revolutionary, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told lawmakers on Wednesday. The landmark deal was announced last June during the historic Official State Visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the US. The General Electric signed a memorandum of understanding with Hindustan Aeronautics to make fighter jet engines for the IAF. Austin told the House Appropriations Subcommittee that the United States has a great relationship with India. We recently have enabled India to produce a jet weapon, a jet engine in India. And that's kind of revolutionary. That will provide a great capability to them. We are also co-producing an armoured vehicle with India," he said. "So, all of these things, when you add them up, are probably more than we have seen happen in that region in a very, very long time, Austin said.
India and France have firmed up a defence industrial partnership roadmap that would provide for co-development and co-production of key military hardware and platforms and facilitate technology collaboration in a range of areas including space, land warfare, cyberspace and artificial intelligence. Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra, announcing key outcomes of the talks between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron in Jaipur last night, also said the Tatas and Airbus Helicopters have entered into a partnership for production of H125 choppers with significant indigenous components. At a media briefing Friday, Kwatra said the India-France defence industrial roadmap would also facilitate cooperation in areas of robotics, autonomous vehicles and cyber defence. He said an MoU was sealed between New Space India Ltd and France's Arianespace for cooperation in satellite launches. Modi and Macron also deliberated on the conflict in Gaza and its various dimensions ...