India, US to ink MoU on tech exchange this year

While clauses of the MoU are still being negotiated under the Joint Technical Group (JTG), joint R&D and production in the coming years are likely have equipment that Washington is already prepared to supply to the Indian armed forces. These include critical command and control equipment, network-centric battlefield surveillance equipment and early warning systems.

The MoU will be good news for South Block which has quietly insisted on such an agreement before defence ties are taken to the next level. The US Embassy will shortly get two more top military officials to beef up its Office of Defence Cooperation, that looks into arms sales and military exchanges, officials said.

While grappling with the immediate task of convincing the establishment that the proposed sale of arms is now situated in a broader political context — and should not be linked with the 1998 post-Pokhran sanctions — US is also pushing joint-development as an equal partnership, where end results carry none of the inherent risks of a straight arms sale.

When US Pacific Command chief Admiral William J. Fallon is in New Delhi next week, the two sides will sign another MoU to progressively chalk out cooperation in military medicine research. The submarine rescue agreement will also come up for discussion, though the actual agreement is likely to be signed only later this year.

Besides the proposed big-ticket bids for F-16 and F/A-18 fighters, P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft and the Patriot-II anti-missile defence system, the US will soon conclude a deal to supply two ANTPQ-37 Firefinder weapon-locating radars and combat free-fall parachutes for the Special Forces.

Also on offer are the H-60C Sea Hawk long-range Naval helicopter, V-22 Osprey hybrid roto-craft, aircraft protection systems for non-combat transport planes, night vision aids and precision guided munitions.

Embassy officials said 56 students would travel for defence studies to US under a $1.4-million programme. In 2005-06, a $800,000 joint fund will be spent on support and equipment for UN peacekeeping forces.