India and JSF

A new Defense Department report to Congress reiterates DOD's interest in pitching the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter to India. "Should India indicate interest in the JSF, the United States would be prepared to provide information on the JSF and its requirements (infrastructure, security, etc.) to support India's future planning," states the "U.S.-India Security Cooperation Report," which was sent to lawmakers today.

This "one-time report," requested in the Fiscal Year 2012 National Defense Authorization Act, "provides a current status of U.S.-India relations and outlines ways to enhance bilateral security cooperation in the future," Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said in a statement.

The report notes India plans to buy 126 fighter aircraft and is working with Russia on the development of the Sukhoi/HAL Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft. The U.S. F-16 and F/A-18 competed in but were ultimately eliminated from India's Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) competition in April. "Despite this setback, we believe U.S. aircraft, such as the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF), to be the best in the world," the Pentagon writes.

Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter noted the possibility of India's involvement in the JSF program in January in remarks at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, when he was the department's acquisition chief. Carter said the U.S. would not block Indian participation in the program, but he added that it is up to India to decide whether to join the program.

The new report to Congress notes the United States has taken "many steps" in recent years to foster science and technology and research and development cooperation with India. "In so doing, we have signaled our unambiguous intent to pursue cooperative opportunities on increasingly sophisticated systems. As our relationship continues to mature, we expect co-development of armaments to become a reality," the Pentagon writes.

"Over the next five years, the United States will continue to establish itself as a reliable defense supplier to India and look for opportunities to enable further training and exchanges between our militaries as India continues its military modernization," the report states, noting that DOD, along with the State and Commerce departments, "will advocate for U.S. solutions to Indian defense needs."

"We recognize that India is also seeking to build its own indigenous defense industry, and is looking for the best technologies to use in its defense sector," the report adds. "The United States wants to develop deeper defense industrial cooperation with India, including a range of cooperative research and development activities. The United States is committed to providing India with top-of-the-line technology."

C-130Js delivered beginning in February are "the first U.S. military aircraft to have been delivered to India in half a century and have already been successfully employed to provide critical humanitarian assistance following an earthquake in Sikkim in September," the report notes.