US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided to step up military sales, which will see India buying weapons worth billions of dollars from the US.
"We'll be increasing military sales to India by many billions of dollars. We're also paving the way to ultimately provide India with the F-35 stealth fighters," Trump told reporters on Thursday after his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Trump's statement comes as India aims to procure more weapons from the US, including advanced P-8I long-range maritime patrol and submarine-hunting aircraft. India has also signed a pact with the US to buy over $20 billion of weapons, including 31 MQ-9B SeaGuardian and SkyGuardian drones.
Russia too has expressed interest in selling India its fifth-generation Su-57 stealth fighters.
What is a F-35?
This is a fifth-generation fighter aircraft that gives the US an edge in air battles. Equipped with advanced avionics, stealth technology, and network systems to ensure precision and effectiveness in complex threat scenarios, the F-35s are in high demand, especially among allies of the US.
However, Elon Musk recently cast a shadow over the future of the jet with him calling the fighters obsolete. Musk, who is also set to lead the Department of Government Efficiency, has called officials "idiots" for continuing to build the aircraft.
Recently, the US Air Force's outgoing secretary Frank Kendall had said that the force may cut short its planned purchase of F-35 jets. “Our inventory objective for the F-35 is [1,763]. I don't know what we'll end up buying, and nobody can predict that right now," Kendall said, adding that the F-35 isn’t going away anytime soon.
However, he slammed Lockheed Martin for not delivering what they promised. "Pentagon does need better performance out of Lockheed. They’re not delivering what they've been promising, and they're not doing as fast as they could by a wide margin," Kendall said, referencing the company's delay in delivery caused by technology development. problems.
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Sale to be delayed
Though the US President's statement comes as a shot in the arm, he did not provide a timeline for when it will happen. For a cutting-edge technology like the stealthy F-35 jet, it typically takes years to work through.
Though Lockheed Martin, which makes the F-35 jet, did not immediately comment on Trump's statement, the sale of advanced jets like the F-35 is considered government-to-government deals. In these deals, the Pentagon is an intermediary between the defence contractor and a foreign government.