United States President, Donald Trump plans to dramatically ramp up weapons sales to India this year, including supersonic F-35 fighter jets, following a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

This came as Modi met with Trump in Washington where the pair discussed everything from trade to immigration, and security was high on the agenda.

Trump told a joint news conference with Modi, “Starting this year, we’ll be increasing military sales to India by many billions of dollars.” He added, “We’re also paving the way to ultimately provide India with the F-35 stealth fighters.”

The US President said that the two countries would work together on security issues, including “the threat of radical Islamic terrorism” and a trade deal that will see India import more US oil and gas to shrink the US trade deficit with India.

The two leaders announced that they would pursue a “framework” for greater cooperation. “ Prime Minister Modi and I have agreed that we will be in negotiations to address the long-running disparities,” Trump said, referring to the US-India trade relationship.

Following his meeting with Modi, Trump praised the Indian Prime Minister, who he described as a “much tougher negotiator” than himself.

Modi, in turn, described Trump as a “friend.” He appealed to Trump’s pride in his slogan, “Make America Great Again”, offering an Indian twist on the motto.

“The people of America are aware of President Trump’s motto, ‘Make America Great Again’ or MAGA.

“Borrowing an expression from the US, our vision for a developed India is to ‘Make India Great Again’, or MIGA. When America and India work together, when it’s MAGA plus MIGA, it becomes mega – a mega partnership for prosperity.”
Narendra Modi

A member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Modi also compared his Hindu majoritarian platform with Trump’s “America First” agenda, saying that he, too, puts his country’s priorities first.

Beyond their “special bond” – as described by Trump – the two leaders also have strategic reasons to remain close.

Modi is only the fourth world leader to visit Trump since his inauguration, but the pair had developed a close relationship during Trump’s first term in office. Those ties may have helped the leaders strike the large defence deal.

India’s Foreign Secretary, Vikram Misri later said the F-35 stealth fighter deal was a proposal at this point, with no formal process under way.

US foreign military sales like those of the F-35 are considered government-to-government deals where the Pentagon acts as an intermediary between the defence contractor and a foreign government.

India has agreed to buy more than $20bn of US defence products since 2008.

Last year, India agreed to buy 31 MQ-9B SeaGuardian and SkyGuardian drones after deliberations that lasted more than six years.

According to the US Congressional Research Service, New Delhi is expected to spend more than $200bn over the next decade to modernise its military.

A Major Win For India

The addition of the F-35 to India’s military would be a major win for New Delhi, as only a small group of countries such as Israel, Japan, and NATO states are allowed to buy them from the US.

While India is a longstanding customer of the US defence industry, its top supplier has historically been Russia.

Moscow, however, is out of the picture for the moment due to its war with Ukraine and international sanctions.

The US sees India as a foil to China’s rising power, and both countries are members of the Quad security agreement alongside Japan and Australia.

India and China share a restive 3,488-kilometre (2,167-mile) border, where tensions bubbled over into a violent skirmish in 2020, resulting in the deaths of more than 20 soldiers.

New Delhi also needs US weapons to complete its ambitious and costly plan to modernise its military over the next decade.

It is worth noting that the F-35 deal is still in the proposal stage, with no formal process underway. While this leaves some room for negotiation, it remains to be seen how the ambitious promises will be realized.