India, US working on new defence innovation roadmap, says American delegation ahead of Aero India 2023

On the US aircraft displayed at the biennial Aero India show, Rear Admiral Michael Baker, Senior Defence Official of the US Embassy, said they will be displaying two F-18 hornets and two F-16 vipers. To a question on whether F-35, a stealth multirole combat aircraft, will participate in the show, Baker said that “if it were to come to the airshow” it would be the most advanced aircraft (at Aero India).

Ambassador Elizabeth Jones, Charge d’Affaires, US Embassy, said the US delegation for the current edition of Aero India is one of the biggest ever. The two countries are working on a range of issues such as climate change, sustainable supply chains and others, she said.

On the Russia-Ukraine war and India-Russia relations, Ambassador Jones said Russia was waging an “unjust war” against Ukraine. The conversation – between India and the US – is focused on the partnership we have with India. The focus, she said, was on global goals of going after issues that affect our people, such as climate change and pandemic.

Responding to a query on the Defence Technology and Trade Initiative between India and the US, Major General Julian C Cheater, Assistant Deputy Under Secretary of Airforce, International Affairs, said that an air-launched Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) will be tested in 2023. The UAV will be tested from a C-130J military transport aircraft. He added that the project arrangement to develop the UAV was for seven years and involved technology transfer.