Indian Foreign Minister Jaishankar's meetings with Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and FBI Director Kash Patel on Wednesday brought a much-needed momentum in Indo-US alignment.

Beyond ceremonial photo-ops, these interactions signal a deepening of cooperation in intelligence, counter-terrorism, cybersecurity, and organised crime. With Gabbard, the substantial focus was in addressing crucial issues: defence-industrial supply chains, maritime domain awareness, intelligence-sharing, and interoperability across multiple security domains.

Negotiations are underway for the "US India Major Defence Partnership in the 21st Century," expected to span 2025–2035, as announced by Prime Minister Modi and President Trump

At the same time, it got a further boost when Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his American counterpart Pete Hegseth agreed to firm up a 10-year framework to further expand defence and strategic ties between India and the US.

Bolstering Defence & Security-The 10-Year Defence Framework

The intelligence and FBI meet-ups push for proactive global collaboration against terrorism, organised crime, and cyber threats. Jaishankar's praise— "appreciate our strong cooperation in countering organised crime, drug trafficking and terrorism"—drives home the scale of the partnership.

For the Indian defence establishment, this is a generational shift, positioning India not as a passive buyer but as a co-developer and producer in critical defence ecosystems

At the same time, negotiations are underway for the "US India Major Defence Partnership in the 21st Century," expected to span 2025–2035, as announced by Prime Minister Modi and President Trump. The defence cooperation was further boosted by the talk between Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and his counterpart, Pete Hegseth. The talk paved the way for a 10-year framework to expand on various military propositions. The decision on the defence framework was mentioned in a Pentagon statement released on July 3, a day after Rajnath Singh and US Defence Secretary Hegseth held the phone conversation.

During his phone conversation, Rajnath Singh also raised the early delivery of the GE F404 engine with Hegseth. Singh urged Hegseth to expedite the delivery of GE F404 engines to power the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft. The delays in the supply of F404 engines by GE Aerospace have resulted in HAL missing the deadline to supply Tejas MK1A to the IAF. According to the reports, Singh also pitched for early finalisation of a proposed deal between Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) and US defence major GE Aerospace for joint production of F414 jet engines in India.

The framework will simplify arms procurement and overhaul ITAR constraints and cement Reciprocal Defence Procurement (RDP) agreements.

In terms of near-military industrial collaboration, it aims to promote the co-production of key systems: Javelin missiles, Stryker vehicles, and P-8I patrol aircraft.

The 10-year roadmap will perhaps break the deadlock, leading to a transformative step for "defence production and self-reliance"

In a broader context, India is also looking at advanced US platforms, fighters, undersea systems, drone technologies, and missile defence.

However, for the Indian defence establishment, this is a generational shift, positioning India not as a passive buyer but as a co-developer and producer in critical defence ecosystems. That has to be clearly practised fundamentally in all acquisitions.

Economic Payoffs & Defence Production

Despite many acquisitions in the past, which involved some of the most advanced platforms for India, including the jet engine for Indian fighter, there has been no visible co-development or significant technology transfer with the US defence manufacturers.

The 10-year roadmap will perhaps break the deadlock, leading to a transformative step for "defence production and self-reliance". With joint ventures spanning engines, drones, armoured vehicles, and missiles, Delhi is trying to put forth -- Atmanirbhar (self-reliance) is no longer just a rhetoric, it's a roadmap. As observed in the US-India Defence Roadmap, such a level of talks now must translate into co-production and technology transfer.

Looking further at the strategic alignment, this intensified partnership sits within a broader Indo-Pacific realignment. With China's rapid military modernisation raising alarm, India seeks resilient, interoperable alliances. The QUAD, strengthened maritime surveillance, drone systems, sonobuoy production, and intelligence collaboration all point to a converging regional security architecture.

 

Manish Kumar Jha is a Consulting & Contributing Editor for SP's Aviation, SP's Land Forces and SP's Naval Forces and a security expert. He writes on national security, military technology, strategic affairs & policies.