‘Landmark’: PM Modi hails GE, HAL agreement to make fighter jet engines in India
PM Modi said the GE-HAL agreement will give India-US defence cooperation a ‘new character’
Prime Minister Narendra Minister Modi speaking in joint media address in US. Reuters.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi called MoU signed by General Electric (GE) with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to jointly make fighter jet engines for the IAF’s LCA Mk2 Tejas a “landmark agreement” and said this will give India-US defence cooperation a “new character”.
GE aerospace Thursday announced it has inked a pact with HAL to jointly produce fighter jet engines for the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) Light Combat Aircraft (LCA)-Mk2 Tejas. The agreement Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed within hours after PM Modi met with GE chairman H Lawrence Culp Jr in Washington.
“The decision taken by General Electric to manufacture engines in India through transfer of technology is a landmark agreement,” PM Modi told during a joint news conference with US President Joe Biden at the White House.
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New job opportunities
PM Modi said the produce fighter jet engines in India will up new job opportunities in both countries and “will give our defence cooperation a new character in the times to come.”
Also Read: PM Modi US Visit: GE, HAL partner up to produce fighter jet engines in India to power IAF’s LCA Mk2
“The defence industries and startups of both countries are important partners in this cooperation. Bringing them together is the key objective of our defence industrial roadmap,” Modi said.
Trailblazing initiative
In a joint statement, PM Modi and US President Joe hailed the signing of MoU between GE and HAL.
“This trailblazing initiative to manufacture F-414 engines in India will enable greater transfer of US jet engine technology than ever before. The leaders committed their governments to working collaboratively and expeditiously to support the advancement of this unprecedented co-production and technology transfer proposal,” the statement read.
The Prime Minister said the close defence cooperation between India and the US symbolises the mutual trust and shared strategic priorities.
“Moving away from the old buyer seller relationship we had earlier, we have transitioned today to a relationship involving transfer of technology, co-development and co-production,” he said.
Both the leaders also expressed their desire to accelerate defence industrial cooperation and welcomed the adoption of a Defence Industrial Cooperation Roadmap.
This will provide policy direction to defence industries and enable co-production of advanced defence systems and collaborative research, testing, and prototyping of projects. Both sides are committed to addressing any regulatory barriers to defence industrial cooperation, according to the statement.
With inputs from PTI
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