PM Modi, Trump launch ASIA to strengthen India-US military cooperation

Modi-Trump meeting: The initiative aims to drive next-generation defence and technological advancements, with a particular focus on underwater domain awareness

India and the United States have introduced a new defence initiative, the Autonomous Systems Industry Alliance (ASIA), designed to boost industry collaboration and enhance the production of autonomous systems. This initiative aims to drive next-generation defence and technological advancements, with a particular focus on underwater domain awareness.  

 

A joint statement issued after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with US President Donald Trump said that this move aligns with the US-India Roadmap for Defence Industrial Cooperation, which places a strong focus on autonomous systems.  

 

Industry partnerships in autonomous tech

 

As part of this initiative, a collaboration between Anduril Industries and Mahindra Group was announced to advance autonomous technologies. Additionally, L3 Harris and Bharat Electronics will work together on the co-development of active towed array systems.  

 

 

"Building on the US-India Roadmap for Defence Industrial Cooperation and recognising the rising importance of autonomous systems, the leaders announced a new initiative — the Autonomous Systems Industry Alliance (ASIA) — to scale industry partnerships and production in the Indo-Pacific," the statement read.   READ: PM Narendra Modi and Donald Trump Bilateral Trade Negotiations

 

The statement further noted, "The leaders welcomed a new partnership between Anduril Industries and Mahindra Group on advanced autonomous technologies to co-develop and co-produce state-of-the-art maritime systems and advanced AI-enabled counter Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) to strengthen regional security, and between L3 Harris and Bharat Electronics for co-development of active towed array systems."  

 

In addition to these industry collaborations, both countries explored ways to expand military cooperation across multiple domains, including air, land, sea, space, and cyberspace. The discussions covered joint training, exercises, and operations, leveraging advanced technologies.  

 

A key highlight was the upcoming "Tiger Triumph" tri-service exercise, which will take place in India. This edition is expected to be more extensive and complex than previous iterations.  

 

India, US agree to enhance logistics

 

To bolster overseas military operations, India and the US agreed to enhance logistics, intelligence sharing, and force mobility across the Indo-Pacific.  

 

"The leaders committed to break new ground to support and sustain the overseas deployments of the U.S. and Indian militaries in the Indo-Pacific, including enhanced logistics and intelligence sharing, as well as arrangements to improve force mobility for joint humanitarian and disaster relief operations along with other exchanges and security cooperation engagements," the statement added.  

 

These initiatives fall under the "US-India COMPACT for the 21st Century," an agreement introduced by Prime Minister Modi and President Trump to advance military partnerships, commerce, and technological collaboration between the two nations.