Defence pacts during President Obamas visit
Joint production on 4 defence projects: Renewing their expansive defence framework for another 10 years, India and the US decided to kick off joint manufacturing of four relatively modest military products and explore the development of two more high-end technologies.
The two nations agreed to step up joint combat exercises, maritime security endeavours, intelligence-sharing mechanisms, military exchanges and the like through the framework, which has the key new element of Defence Trade and Technology Initiative (DTTI) to bolster India's fledgling defence-industrial base.
The DTTI will be launched with four aptly-called "pathfinder projects" since India wants to first ascertain how these "not-so-complex technologies" actually materialize on the ground. The Indian defence establishment, after all, is yet to fully shed its long-standing inhibitions about the US being a reliable long-term supplier of top-notch technologies.
The four products to be co-produced are the next-generation Raven unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), "roll-on, roll-off" intelligence-gathering and reconnaissance modules for C-130J Super Hercules aircraft, mobile electric hybrid power sources and "uniform integrated protection ensemble increment-2 (chemical, biological warfare protection gear for soldiers)".