Army chief Gen Pande visits US, focus on new tech, precision munition and infantry combat vehicles

Army chief Gen Pande visits US, focus on new tech, precision munition and infantry combat vehicles

New Delhi: Army chief General Manoj Pande, who has left on a three-day visit to the US starting tomorrow, will focus on key modernisation issues, including co-development and co-production with the American defence industry, particularly on armoured infantry vehicles and long-range precision artillery munitions.

The Army in a statement said that Gen. Pande will engage in high-level discussions with General Randy George, the United States Chief of Staff of the Army (CSA) and other senior military leaders.

The visit entails a US Army Honour Guard ceremony, a solemn laying of the wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Arlington National Cemetery, and a comprehensive tour of the Pentagon.

“These engagements symbolise the respect and mutual commitment towards global peace and security shared between the two countries,” the Army said in the statement.

It added that ideas would be exchanged on crucial topics such as the transformation in the Indian Army, global threat perception, transformation to Army by 2030/2040, human resource challenges, future force development and modernisation, and co-production and co-development initiatives.

ThePrint first reported in February last year that the US and India were focussing big time on co-development and co-production projects.

National Security Adviser Ajit Doval pushed for greater technology transfer in the defence and space domain during his talks with American counterpart Jake Sullivan in Washington last February and insisted on deliverables in a time-bound manner.

Key projects which came up for discussion included transfer of technology (ToT) for jet engines, long-range precise artillery munitions and Stryker-armoured personnel carriers.

The deal for jet engines has already been announced and sources said the big project next could be the Stryker.

During the 2+2 Dialogue in November last year, External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar had said the initial offer on several infantry combat vehicles systems came from the US. India, in turn, expressed its interest in carrying out further discussions to co-develop and co-produce these vehicles.

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin had told the media earlier that both countries would co-produce infantry combat vehicles as part of the defence industrial cooperation.

Sources said another project that both sides were exploring was the possibility of jointly developing and manufacturing a variant of the M777 ultra-lightweight howitzer with an extended range, as reported first by ThePrint last year.

(Edited by Tikli Basu)