Military-Technical Cooperation of India with USA, Israel and EU Countries in the Context of “Make in India” Program

Abstract

The article analyzes the key trends in India’s military-technical cooperation with Western countries and Israel in the last decade, including the increased diversification of defense procurement due to the growing number of contracts with these countries and the shift in emphasis of the Indian acquisition strategy from obtaining of weapon platforms to the procurement of components and development of the national defense industry. The primary focus of the paper are the key features of India’s military-technical cooperation with the USA, Israel and France as the main (besides Russia) suppliers of weapons and military equipment in 2014–2023, as well as its major contracts and joint projects with leading defense companies of these countries – Dassault Aviation, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, General Electric, Israel Aircraft Industries, Rafael and several other. Regulatory measures in the defense and aerospace complex that have been introduced as part of “Make in India” program since 2014, including the revision of the offset contracts rules, liberalization of procurement procedures and efforts towards “ease of doing business” for foreign and domestic private defense companies, are assessed as generally successful (in terms of stimulating the development of national industry and the implementation of national defense programs). It is concluded that these measures contributed to both the growth in the number of India’s offset and licensing contracts, joint defense projects with Israel and Western countries in the last decade, and the intensification of its national defense industry development through inclusion in Western supply chains of weapons and components. At the same time, it is indicated that the strengthening of military-technical cooperation between New Delhi and the West will have its limits, associated primarily with the specifics of the transfer of Western technologies, in particular, production ones, trends in equipping combat platforms produced in India with foreign components, and with the peculiarities of integration of the country into Western supply chains of weapons and subsystems. Budgetary restrictions may also arise due to increased costs for the purchase of Western, Israeli and national weapons systems as well as their maintenance.