India and the United States signed an agreement on the framework for the US-India Major Defence Partnership in Kuala Lumpur — a 10-year pact between the two nations. The agreement was signed on Friday by Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, who reaffirmed stronger defence ties between the two countries. This marks a significant milestone in strengthening bilateral defence cooperation between the two nations.
Announcing the development, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said the two nations' "defence ties have never been stronger.”
Hegseth, in a post on X, said he met Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and signed the new framework, adding that the agreement would advance the India-US defence partnership, describing it as a "cornerstone for regional stability and deterrence."
“This advances our defense partnership, a cornerstone for regional stability and deterrence. We're enhancing our coordination, info sharing, and tech cooperation. We're enhancing our coordination, info sharing, and tech cooperation. Our defense ties have never been stronger.”
"Had a fruitful meeting with my US counterpart @PeterHegsethSec in Kuala Lumpur. We signed the 10-year 'Framework for the US-India Major Defence Partnership'. This will usher in a new era in our already strong defence partnership,” Rajnath Singh wrote in a post on X, adding that this framework would be “helpful in providing policy direction to the entire spectrum of the India-US Defence Relationship."
"It is a signal of our growing strategic convergence and will herald a new decade of partnership," he stated, adding that defence "will remain as the major pillar of our bilateral relations" and that the partnership is "critical for ensuring a free, open and rules-bound Indo-Pacific region."
The meeting between Rajnath Singh and Pete Hegseth took place on the sidelines of the ASEAN-India Defence Ministers' Informal Meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The informal meeting was convened ahead of the ASEAN Defence Ministers' Meeting Plus (ADMM Plus), scheduled to be held on November 1.
Besides this, Infrastructure major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) signed a strategic pact with US-based Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) to manufacture unmanned aircraft systems for the Indian Army. Both firms will jointly manufacture Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) in India.
"Under this partnership, L&T will participate in the upcoming 87 MALE RPAS programme of the Ministry of Defence, where L&T will be the prime bidder and GA-ASI the technology partner," the infrastructure major said in a filing to the BSE.
These are widely operational across the globe with millions of flight hours in surveillance and strike missions, it said.
"This partnership offers India a unique opportunity to manufacture state-of-the-art- art unmanned platforms indigenously… this alliance will significantly enhance India's defence capabilities and advance self-reliance in aerospace technologies," L&T Chairman & Managing Director S N Subrahmanyan said.
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