PM’s US visit to be a watershed, says General Atomics global corp chief executive
General Atomics Global Corporation has developed the Predator drones that India is all set to purchase
Washington
Vivek Lall, the chief executive of General Atomics Global Corporation, has said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s State visit to the US will be a “watershed”, and lauded Modi and President Joe Biden for taking the defence relationship to the next level.
General Atomics Global Corporation has developed the Predator drones that India is all set to purchase. On Thursday, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) cleared the procurement of the unmanned aerial vehicles. The decision will have to be cleared by the cabinet committee on security. During Modi’s visit, India is expected to issue a letter of request for 31 drones worth $3 billion to the US government, to be split among the three services. The acquisition will happen under the foreign military sales (FMS) mechanism of the US Department of Defense, which, as HT reported on Wednesday, has just been tweaked to incorporate the needs of allies and partners and meet their needs on an expeditious basis.
Lall, a veteran of the US defence industry, said, “The US-India defence relationship has been one of great convergence in the last few years and has grown from strength to strength with India and the US having signed several foundational agreements. Military to military ties have been ever increasing. And now with the initiative on critical and emerging technologies, defence innovation is a key part of that effort. The decades ahead will see growth and convergence in defence”.
Lall said that the partnership has now moved to critical areas of technology, such as artificial intelligence, quantum, space. “It is very significant that those seeds are sown”.
When asked if India and the US were finally addressing the concerns of the other side that have inhibited the growth in defence ties — Washington DC has wanted India to buy more weapon systems, Delhi has wanted the US to ease export controls and invest in co-production and co-development — Lall said that the Modi’s visit was a “watershed event” and will be “historic”. “PM Modi and President Biden have definitely taken the relationship to a new level. The relationship gets a strong pivot over what’s been created. I do see the visit as a great catalyser.” Modi had met Lall during his last visit to the US in September 2021.
Looking ahead, Lall said that industrial ties between countries — at the level of start-ups, small, medium and large enterprises — will be key. “Understanding and collaboration, true research and development, and innovation will be key to sustained growth. When you look at the industrial setup on both sides, there is great keenness to work together because of shared interests in terms of tech and innovation.”
With India having leased two MQ-9B drones as the border crisis with China intensified in 2020 — a lease that was enabled by rapid US government clearances — Washington has expected New Delhi would pursue a larger acquisition deal. The issue repeatedly came up in several high-level conversations between the two sides in recent months and Thursday’s clearance is being seen in Washington as a clear sign of the Indian commitment to deepen the defence partnership.