Sullivan will also hold wide-ranging talks with his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval to review the progress in cooperation under the iCET as well as the bilateral defence engagement.Last year, the two sides unveiled a raft of transformative initiatives to deepen the India-US cooperation in areas of semiconductors, critical minerals, advanced telecommunication and defence space.Sullivan’s trip comes days after Jaishankar concluded a six-day visit to the US.Ahead of his trip, a Biden administration spokesperson said Sullivan’s talks with Doval will cover a range of issues across the “breadth of the US-India partnership — from space, defence, and strategic technology cooperation to shared security priorities in the Indo-Pacific and beyond”.The India-US defence cooperation also witnessed a major upswing in the last four years.In October, India inked a mega deal with the US to procure 31 Predator long-endurance drones from American defence major General Atomics under the foreign military sales route at a cost of nearly USD 4 billion.India is procuring the drones to boost its military’s combat prowess along the contested borders with China.While the Navy will get 15 Sea Guardian drones, the Indian Air Force and the Army will each get eight Sky Guardian drones.The high-altitude long-endurance drones are capable of remaining airborne for over 35 hours and can carry four Hellfire missiles and around 450 kg of bombs.
Source link
