Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth held a telephone conversation on Thursday. During the conversation, they reviewed the expanding India-US defence partnership across multiple domains, including land, air, maritime, and space. The two leaders agreed to deepen collaboration in critical areas such as advanced technology, defence industrial supply chains, interoperability, logistics, information sharing, and joint military exercises.
It marked their first official interaction since Hegseth assumed office as US Defence Secretary and comes just days ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the United States.
The two Ministers reviewed the extensive India-US defence cooperation activities covering multiple domains in land, air, maritime and space. “The two ministers appreciated the ongoing and remarkable expansion of the bilateral defence partnership and reaffirmed their commitment to deepen the ties,” the Ministry of Defence said in a statement.
A key outcome of the conversation was the agreement to enhance support for defence innovation through collaboration among governments, start-ups, businesses, and academic institutions. Both sides also agreed to work on drafting a comprehensive framework for defence cooperation aimed at structuring their partnership for the 2025-2035 period.
Describing the discussion as “excellent,” Singh took to X (formerly Twitter) to share his optimism. “We reviewed ongoing defence cooperation and explored ways to expand and deepen the India-US bilateral defence relationship. We also agreed on an ambitious agenda covering operational, intelligence, logistics, and defence-industrial collaboration. I look forward to working closely with Secretary Hegseth,” Singh wrote.
Had an excellent telephonic conversation with my US counterpart Mr Pete Hegseth today. Congratulated him on his confirmation as the new @SecDef on 25th January, 2025. We reviewed the ongoing defence cooperation and explored ways and means to expand and deepen the India – U.S.…
— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) February 6, 2025
India and the US have made significant strides under the US-India Defence Industrial Cooperation Roadmap, adopted in 2023. This roadmap focuses on accelerating technology cooperation and co-production in key areas, including jet engines, munitions, ground mobility systems, air combat, and undersea capabilities.
As part of these efforts, both nations are advancing priority co-production initiatives that could pave the way for greater strategic convergence. With a shared vision for a secure and resilient defence relationship, the India-US partnership is poised for even greater milestones in the years to come.
Team BharatShakti
