Rajnath tells Hegseth to speed up GE jet engine delivery, Apache copters

Singh is learnt to have told Hegseth that India reserves the right to respond and defend itself against terrorism, and pre-empt as well as deter any further cross-border attacks. He is also learnt to have conveyed that during the operation against Pakistan, India’s actions were measured, non-escalatory, proportionate, and focused on disabling terrorist infrastructure.

In August 2021, HAL placed an order worth `5,375 crore for 99 F404 engines with GE Aerospace to power the indigenously made Tejas Mk-1A. The first of these jet engines was delivered to HAL after a delay of nearly a year-and-a-half, in April this year.

Of the six Apache attack helicopters India ordered for the Army in 2020, none has been delivered so far.

Singh, sources said, also sought from the US fast-track joint production of GE F414 engines for India’s Tejas and the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft. First announced in 2023, this programme has also been delayed for several months due to ongoing negotiations on sharing advanced technologies.

In a statement, the Defence Ministry said that during the conversation with Hegseth, Singh appreciated the “unwavering support” extended by the US to India for its fight against terrorism.

“He complimented the US Secretary of Defense for his dynamic leadership which has propelled defence cooperation between US and India to new levels,” it added, adding that Hegseth invited him to the US for an in-person meeting to take the bilateral defence partnership forward.

In a post on X, Singh said the discussions were held to review the ongoing and new initiatives to further deepen India-US defence partnership and strengthen cooperation in capacity building. He said he looked forward to meeting the US Secretary of Defense at an early date.