India US to advance cooperation in threat info sharing, vulnerability mitigation in energy and telecommunications networks

India and the United States will work together to advance cooperation in new domains such as threat information sharing, cybersecurity training, and collaboration on vulnerability mitigation in energy and telecommunications networks, aside from ongoing work in space and cyberspace, a fact sheet issued by both countries on Saturday said.

This was discussed as Prime Minister Narendra Modi met US President Joe Biden during his three-day visit to the US to attend the Quad leaders’ summit in Wilmington, Delaware, on Saturday.

The statement said that both sides looked forward to the November 2024 bilateral cyber engagement to enhance the US-India cyber cooperation framework.

It added that the leaders also noted the second US-India Advanced Domains Defense Dialogue in May 2024, during which the first-ever bilateral defence space table-top exercise was held.

As per the statement, President Biden welcomed the progress towards India concluding procurement of 31 General Atomics MQ-9B (16 Sky Guardian and 15 Sea Guardian) remotely piloted aircraft and their associated equipment, to enhance the intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities of India’s armed forces across all domains.

The contract for the procurement was nearly finalised before Modi’s visit.

Both the leaders spoke about the progress made under the US-India Defense Industrial Cooperation Roadmap, including the collaboration to advance priority co-production arrangements for jet engines, munitions, and ground mobility systems.

This was also discussed during Defence Minister Rajnath Singh’s official visit to the US last month.

They welcomed efforts to expand defence industrial partnerships, including the teaming of Liquid Robotics and Sagar Defence Engineering for the co-development and co-production of unmanned surface vehicle systems, which strengthen undersea and maritime domain awareness.

President Biden welcomed India’s decision to set a uniform Goods and Services Tax of five per cent on the maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) sector, including on all aircraft and aircraft engine parts, simplifying the tax structure and paving the way for building a strong ecosystem for MRO services in the country.
“The leaders also encouraged the industry to foster collaboration and drive innovation to support India’s efforts to become a leading aviation hub,” the statement said, adding that they welcomed commitments from the US industry to further increase India’s MRO capabilities, including for the repair of aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles.

They praised the conclusion of the Security of Supply Arrangement between the two countries last month, enhancing the mutual supply of defence goods and services. “Both leaders committed to advance ongoing discussions on aligning their respective defense procurement systems to further enable the reciprocal supply of defense goods and services,” the statement read.

The leaders also welcomed the conclusion of the memorandum of agreement regarding the deployment of liaison officers and the commencement of the deployment of the first liaison officer from India in the US Special Operations Command last month.

They praised the teaming agreement on the C-130J Super Hercules aircraft recently signed between Lockheed Martin and Tata Advanced Systems Limited, two companies that co-chair the US-India CEO Forum.

The agreement, the statement said, will establish a new MRO facility in India to support the readiness of the Indian fleet and global partners who operate the C-130J Super Hercules aircraft.

The statement added that in 2024, the governments in both countries separately awarded more than $1 million to US and Indian companies that developed technologies focused on undersea communications and maritime intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance.