US Army Attache in India, Colonel Douglas Hess while addressing the US-India Defence conclave on Friday said that the historic challenges need unprecedented cooperation with common allies with an aspiration of free and open Indo-Pacific.
"A scientific study was carried out by the defence forces jointly and it has been decided that to meet the Medium Altitude Long Endurance requirements, Indian forces would require 97 such drones for keeping an eye on both land and sea," government sources told ANI.
"Indian Navy has been operating these drones. They fall in the category of the HALE, (high altitude long endurance drones). So, we realised there is a need for having these drones for better surveillance and increased maritime domain awareness," the Navy Chief said.
Amid the questions being raised over the capabilities of the proposed Predator drone deal with the US, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral R Hari Kumar on Wednesday said the drone has got long endurance and can stay in the air for 33 hours.
The India-US Defence Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS-X) was launched by the defence departments of India and the US on Wednesday, aimed to expand the strategic technology partnership and defence industrial cooperation between the two countries.
US National Security Council (NSC) Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby said that the US and India have a "significant defence partnership" and "terrific cooperation" in Quad.
The German Defence Minister during a media briefing on Tuesday said that next year, India and Germany will conduct a multi-day military exercise with the deployment of our naval units for the Pacific Program 2024, including a port visit.
S Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin concluded his India visit on Monday, the US Department of Defence said. The importance of defense innovation remained one of many keynote points of discussions during Austin's visit here.
Rajnath Singh and Lloyd Austin concluded a roadmap for US-India Defence Industrial Cooperation which shall guide the policy direction for the next few years.
A day-long industry interaction and brainstorming session was organised by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) at Research Centre Imarat in Hyderabad. Held on Saturday, it was aimed at bringing all defence industries, including MSMEs and start-ups, to one platform for unders
India's Defence Secretary Giridhar Aramane, US Under Secretary of Defence for Policy Colin Kahl on Wednesday reviewed the progress made in furthering India-US defence industrial cooperation and operationalising the India-US Major Defence Partnership.