NEW DELHI:Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump have vowed to further strengthen the already expansive India-US defence and security partnership, a highly visible symbol of which will be the massive Malabar naval exercise with Japan as the third participant in the Bay of Bengal next month.
The US is now one of the top three arms suppliers to India, notching up sales worth $15 billion since 2007 to even dislodge Russia from the top slot for the last couple of years.
The bilateral defence trade could well cross the $20 billion mark within the next few years, with several defence deals in the pipeline amid the US designating India as a “Major Defence Partner” on par with its “closest allies” to make transfer of technology swifter and smoother than ever before.