Page 3 - Defence Deals

China deepens bilateral defence ties with Maldives, Sri Lanka and Nepal

On Tuesday, India rejected Chinese objections to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's weekend visit to Arunachal Pradesh in the eastern Himalayas, which China claims to be a part of southern Tibet

US approves sale of 31 MQ-9B armed drones worth $3.99 bn to India: Report

The US on Thursday approved the sale of 31 MQ-9B armed drones to India at an estimated cost of USD 3.99 billion, an acquisition that will bolster India's capability to meet current and future threats by enabling unmanned surveillance and reconnaissance patrols in sea lanes of operation. The proposed mega drone deal was announced during the historic State Visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi here in June 2023. The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Government of India of MQ-9B Remotely Piloted Aircraft and related equipment for an estimated cost of USD 3.99 billion, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said here in a statement. The Agency said it has delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale on Thursday. This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by helping to strengthen the US-Indian strategic relationship and to impro

India set to begin ambitious defence projects worth Rs 1.4 trillion

These three projects for the Indian Airforce include aircraft carrier, Tejas fighters, and Prachand helicopters

Brazil's Embraer in talks with HAL, Tata for defence aircraft manufacturing

President and chief executive of Embraer Defense & Security said that the firm expects to announce its partner by December

DefMin inks Rs 19,000 cr contract with HSL for 5 fleet support ships

The ships of 44,000 tons category will be the first of its kind to be built in India by an Indian shipyard, officials said

Techno-commercial negotiations on Rafale-M, Scorpene not yet final: Reports

The negotiations on cost and techno-commercial details relating to India's proposed procurement of 26 Rafale-M fighter jets and three Scorpene submarines from France are not yet concluded, sources said on Tuesday. India's state-run ship-builder Mazagon Dock Limited (MDL) and French defence major Naval Group firmed up a framework agreement on July 6 for the Scorpene submarine project but negotiations on price and other technical details are yet to be firmed up, they said. On the procurement of the Rafale-M, the naval variant of the jet, the sources said the deal will be sealed once the techno-commercial negotiations are concluded. Expansion of overall India-France defence cooperation, especially to co-develop and co-produce key military platforms, was one of the outcomes of talks between Prime Minister Minister Narendra Modi and French President Emmanuel Macron. On the decision by the two sides for co-development of a fighter aircraft engine by French defence major Safran in India,

Cooperation should not undermine regional peace: China on Indo-US deals

China on Monday said cooperation between countries should not undermine regional peace and stability and target any third party, as it reacted to a host of defence and commercial pacts recently signed between India and the US including joint production of jet engines in India to power military aircraft and a deal on armed drones. "It has been China's longstanding position that military cooperation between states should not undermine regional peace and stability, target any third party, or even harm the interests of any third party," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning told media briefing here. She was responding to a question by a Russian state-run news agency seeking her reaction about a host of defence and commercial agreements during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's state visit to Washington last week. "We hope relevant countries will act in ways conducive to mutual trust between regional countries in the field of security and stability in the region," she said. General

INDUS-X launch: India, US startups to focus on co-developing technology

The government has called for co-development and co-production of advanced technologies by Indian and American startups as the India-United States Defence Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS-X) was launched at an event in Washington, the defence ministry said on Thursday. At the launch of INDUS-X, Joint Secretary (Defence Industries Promotion) Anurag Bajpai asked the participants to develop mechanisms for future collaborations across industries, academia and investors. He also gave an overview of the "Make in India" initiative, focussing on "Aatmanirbhar Bharat" (self-reliant India) and the philosophy of "Make in India, for the world", the ministry said in a statement. Bajpai led the Indian delegation at the two-day INDUS-X event that was co-organised by Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX), the Ministry of Defence and the US Department of Defence (DoD), and hosted by the US-India Business Council (USIBC) on June 20-21. A reception for Indian and US government representatives, defenc

PM Modi in the US: Semiconductors to drones, here's what will be in focus

PM Modi is expected to meet the top 20 business leaders of US companies, including Mastercard, Accenture, the Coca-Cola Company, Adobe Systems and Visa

Belarus starts taking delivery of Russian tactical nuclear weapons

Deployment is Moscow's first move of such warheads - shorter-range less powerful nuclear weapons that could potentially be used on the battlefield - outside Russia since the fall of the Soviet Union

Kuwait strikes $367 mn deal to acquire Turkish-made combat drones

Kuwait reached an agreement worth USD 367 million with Turkish drone giant Baykar to purchase its increasingly sought-after TB2 combat drones, the Kuwaiti army said. The drone, Bayraktar TB2, boasts unmanned aerial vehicles that can carry lightweight, laser-guided bombs, and fly for up to 27 hours at a time, which, according to the company, was a record, it had set while testing the drone in Kuwait in 2019. The announcement, on Tuesday, would set Kuwait to become the 28th country to procure the TB2 drones. Demand for the drones has surged due to their successful deployment in conflict zones such as Libya, Syria and Ukraine. Kuwaiti Air Force operations chief brigadier, General Fahad Al-Dosari, said in a video posted on their Twitter account that the drone fleet can support the navy and coast guard, as well as monitor maritime and land borders. He said the drones can also carry out reconnaissance and targeted missions in addition to supporting search and rescue efforts. Baykar and

Defence Minister Rajnath to begin 5-day visit to Mongolia, Japan on Monday

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will embark on a five-day visit to Mongolia and Japan beginning Monday with an aim to expand India's defence and security ties with the two countries. In Japan, Singh and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will join their Japanese counterparts under the framework of '2+2' foreign and defence ministerial dialogue, people familiar with the matter said on Sunday. Singh will visit Mongolia from September 5 to 7 while his tour of Japan will be from September 8-9. It is learnt that the '2+2' dialogue is planned for September 8. The dialogue is taking place over five months after Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida visited India for the annual India-Japan summit. At the summit in New Delhi, Kishida announced an investment target of five trillion Yen (Rs 3,20,000 crore) in India over the next five years. In the 2+2 dialogue, the two sides are expected to deliberate on ways to further expand bilateral cooperation in the areas of defence and security .

UK-India defence deal runs parallel to FTA talks, includes work on jet tech

Three rounds of negotiations for what is being called a free trade agreement - actually an interim or limited treaty - have now concluded

India developed close ties with Russia as US wasn't ready then: US official

State Department Spokesperson Ned Price has acknowledged that India developed defence ties with Russia because the US was not ready for such a relationship.

Explained: India's arms import dependence

India has been the largest arms importer globally and spent almost double compared to China in 2017-21. The problematic issue, though, is India's paltry share in the world's exports. Read the full report here: https://mybs.in/2au2w0S

What does the Ukraine crisis mean for India's defence procurement?

With the US, UK and the EU ratcheting up economic sanctions against Russia, India is faced with difficult choices. Let's explores the impact of the sanctions on India's defence deals with Russia

TMS Ep118: Portfolio rejig, India's defence deals, markets, SWIFT

Should you increase gold, real estate exposure? What does Ukraine crisis mean for India's defence? How did markets react to Ukraine-Russia conflict? What is the SWIFT payment system? All answers here

US, Japan hail stronger partnership, including 2 new defence deals

Seeking to deepen their defence cooperation, the United States and Japan will soon sign a new five-year agreement on sharing the cost of the American military presence in Japan, Antony Blinken said

US Congress passes roughly $770 bn defense spending bill for FY2022

The US Senate voted to pass a roughly $770 billion defense spending bill for fiscal year 2022.

Blinken says US ready to move forward with sale of F-35s, drones to UAE

A UAE official on Tuesday told Reuters that it had informed the US that it would suspend discussions to acquire F-35 fighter jets, part of a $23 bn deal that includes drones, other advanced munitions