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India US Bonhomie

India-US defense cooperation is increasing. We are buying more defense equipments from the US than ever before- next only to Russia and Israel in money terms. There is talk of India becoming the manufacturing hub for F-16Fighting Falcons, especially with the Make in India initiative of the Government. But with the coming of President Trump, things have become uncertain as the new policy is to encourage American companies like Lockheed Martin to invest in USA, instead of moving shop to other countries. The ray of hope that this may take off in the near future is the tie up between India's Tata Advanced Systems and Lockheed Martin to jointly manufacture F-!6s in India- there must be a strong feeling that it may take off. Now the final decision is in Trump's court.
PM Modi's visit to US and the warm reception he got from President Trump bodes well for India and its quest to achieve military superiority in the region. The sale of 22 Predator Guardian drones to India may open a new chapter in US-India military ties. Even though it fell short of India's requirement of attack drones, the ones that have been successful in Afghanistan-Pakistan border areas to target suspected terrorists, it is still the right step forward.
Future wars will be won not on the basis of numbers and variety of military hardware a country possesses but on the basis of technological superiority. Huge investment is needed in this sector. India has recently opened up its defense sector to private parties. Technological transfers have been few and far in between, even with Russia. Israel and US have the most sophisticated military equipments the world knows about. It is in India's long term interest to collaborate with these two countries. It pays to be on the right side of US. The reported $15 billion defense deals that India has entered into with USA in the last few years is a small price to pay to secure our national interests.

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