Trump says US to increase military sales to India, eventually provide F-35 jets
The United States will increase military sales to India starting in 2025 and will eventually provide F-35 fighter jets, US President Donald Trump said on Thursday.
'We'll be increasing military sales to India by many billions of dollars. We're also paving the way to ultimately provide India with the F-35 stealth fighters,' Trump told reporters.
Trump did not provide a timeline, but foreign military sales, especially for cutting-edge technology like the stealthy F-35 jet, typically take years to work through.
Addressing a joint news conference after a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Trump also said the countries had struck an agreement that includes India importing more US oil and gas to shrink the trade deficit between the two countries.
Trump also said that Washington and New Delhi will be working together to confront what he called 'the threat of radical Islamic terrorism.'
Lockheed Martin, which makes the F-35 jet, did not immediately comment on Trump's ambitions to sell the jets to India.
Foreign military sales like those of the F-35 are considered government-to-government deals where the Pentagon acts as an intermediary between the defense contractor and a foreign government.
India has agreed to buy more than $20 billion of US defense 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 $200 billion over the next decade to modernize its military.
Lockheed is producing three models of the new warplanes for the US military and allies including Britain, Australia, Italy, Turkey, Norway, the Netherlands, Israel, Japan, South Korea and Belgium.
Russia has for decades been the main weapons supplier to India, the world's biggest arms importer, and its fighter jets are part of India's military fleet. But Moscow's ability in recent years to export has been hobbled by the war in Ukraine, making New Delhi look westward.
Russia has offered to make its fifth-generation stealth fighter jet Sukhoi Su-57 in India for the Indian Air Force, a Russian and an Indian official said on Tuesday, as Moscow looks to maintain strong ties with New Delhi.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arab News
an hour ago
- Arab News
Araghchi, the bomb and the Iranian train
The US has no interest in resorting to a military solution to resolve the dispute with Iran over its nuclear program. The use of force in the Middle East revives memories of costly experiences. President Donald Trump himself does not believe that a military solution is viable, unless all other options to persuade Iran to abandon its nuclear dream run out. Iran, in turn, says it has no such dream. However, despite its repeated denials, the nuclear file continues to return to the spotlight. The lack of trust between the US and Iran is not unusual. The two countries have traded direct and indirect blows over recent decades, deepening this crisis of trust. The current Iran always views the US, or 'the Great Satan,' as the top danger. It is aware that the US is a major power that is capable of upending balances of power in most parts of the world. Meanwhile, the US views Iran as the main backer of terrorism in the Middle East and Washington has accused it of having a hand in every attempt to destabilize the region. Trump's return to the White House has inflamed the crisis with Iran. He is connected to two major events in Iran's recent history: Washington's withdrawal from the nuclear agreement and the killing of Qassem Soleimani. Trump has opened the door for negotiations with Iran, but with the constant reminder that it will never be allowed to possess nuclear weapons, even if this ultimately means resorting to military force to prevent it from doing so. The current nuclear crisis with Iran has entered a new phase in the wake of the latest International Atomic Energy Agency report, which accused Tehran of speeding up the rate of its uranium enrichment. Trump's repeated statements that Tehran will not be allowed to acquire nuclear arms have been accompanied by repeated signs from him that an agreement is possible, and soon. The US has no interest in sliding into a military confrontation with Iran. It also has no interest in Israel taking the reins in such a mission, meaning unpredictable repercussions. In all likelihood, Iran, which has long avoided slipping into a direct confrontation with the US, will continue to walk the same path in avoiding such a costly clash. The US has no interest in a military confrontation with Iran. It also has no interest in Israel taking the reins in such a mission Ghassan Charbel Moreover, Iran is today in no shape to become embroiled in such a test of force. The recent changes in the Middle East have not at all been in Iran's favor and they have denied it some of its most valuable cards. On this note, we have to wonder what Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will feel when his plane approaches Beirut airport. Will he sense that Beirut has changed or that the region has changed, along with Iran's position in it? He knows that his mission these days is very difficult, if not impossible. The world is calling on Iran to reassure it, while he responds that it should reassure Iran instead. Araghchi is aware of what has happened to the Iranian train in recent months. Syria has hopped off and there is nothing that would lead anyone to believe that it will jump back on again. What has changed in Syria is not just the name of its president, but an entire reversal in how it treats the Syrian people, its neighbors and the world. Damascus ousted the 'way of the resistance' that the Assad regime had long relied on. The US is no longer viewed as an enemy. Syria is now being desired and is in demand. Its advice and demands are also being heard. Syria no longer hosts the officers of Iran's Revolutionary Guards as part of the plan Soleimani spent years drawing up, especially after he successfully persuaded Vladimir Putin's Russia to save the Assad regime from collapse. Syria no longer hosts the headquarters of Palestinian 'resistance' organizations or offers its leaders safe havens. These groups are no longer welcome in Syria, while Lebanon's Hezbollah is now viewed as an enemy. Lebanon has also changed. The naming of presidents is no longer in the hands of Hezbollah commanders. The current president of the republic was elected after vowing to achieve a state monopoly over arms. The same can be said of the current prime minister. The current rule in Lebanon is based on the full implementation of UN Security Council resolution 1701. Any delay is full of dangers and risks wasting opportunities for reconstruction and reestablishing stability. Araghchi knows that the current nuclear crisis erupted at a very difficult time. The changes in Syria are comparable to the changes that took place in Iraq after Saddam Hussein was overthrown. Another Iraq and another Syria. Iran has not been able to make up for such losses. Iraq did not hop off the Iranian train in the wake of the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation and its ensuing wars, but it managed to remain outside of the storm and avoid any adventures. The Houthi missiles are not enough compensation for Iran's losses. One must pause at the situation in Gaza. The catastrophe there has no bounds and there are no limits to Israel's savagery. Hamas fought long and hard and paid a hefty price, but today it has no other practical alternative than to seek shelter in US envoy Steve Witkoff's proposal. Araghchi is aware of what happened to the Iranian train in the wake of the Al-Aqsa operation. He knows that the countries of the region encourage the building of bridges with his own. Perhaps he even knows that accepting a lesser role for his country is much better than risking exposing it and its regime to a direct clash with the American military machine. *Ghassan Charbel is editor-in-chief of Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper. X: @GhasanCharbel This article first appeared in Asharq Al-Awsat.
Arab News
an hour ago
- Arab News
Erdogan proposes new Putin-Zelensky-Trump meeting in Turkiye
ANKARA: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday reiterated his willingness to host a meeting between the American, Russian and Ukrainian leaders in an effort to end the war in Ukraine. 'My greatest wish for both sides is to bring both (Russia's) Vladimir Putin and (Ukraine's Volodymyr) Zelensky together in Istanbul or Ankara, and even to bring (US President) Mr. (Donald) Trump to their side, if they accept,' he said. Turkiye, he said, would 'take steps' to facilitate such a meeting, following direct talks between the two sides in Istanbul on Monday. Erdogan said it was a big achievement that Monday's talks even took place. Ukraine carried out one of its most brazen and successful attacks ever on Russian soil on the weekend, its drones ambushing dozens of strategic bombers at bases deep inside Russia. 'It is a success in itself that the meeting happened despite what happened yesterday,' he said, hailing the talks as 'magnificent.' At Monday's meeting, which lasted just over an hour, Ukraine and Russia agreed to exchange severely injured prisoners of war as well as those under 25, alongside the remains of 6,000 troops killed in combat, Kyiv said. 'These figures given by both Russia and Ukraine... (are) very, very important in terms of showing how important these Istanbul meetings are. And we are proud of this,' Erdogan added.
Asharq Al-Awsat
an hour ago
- Asharq Al-Awsat
US Gives Nod to Syria to Bring Ex-Opposition Foreign Fighters into Army
The United States has given its blessing to a plan by Syria's new leadership to incorporate thousands of foreign former opposition fighters into the national army, provided that it does so transparently, President Donald Trump's envoy said. Three Syrian defense officials said that under the plan, some 3,500 foreign fighters, mainly Uyghurs from China and neighboring countries, would join a newly-formed unit, the 84th Syrian army division, which would also include Syrians. Asked by Reuters in Damascus whether Washington approved the integration of foreign fighters into Syria's new military, Thomas Barrack, the US ambassador to Türkiye who was named Trump's special envoy to Syria last month, said: "I would say there is an understanding, with transparency." He said it was better to keep the fighters, many of whom are "very loyal" to Syria's new administration, within a state project than to exclude them. The fate of foreigners who joined Syria's Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group during the 13-year war between opposition factions groups and President Bashar al-Assad has been one of the most fraught issues hindering a rapprochement with the West since HTS, a one-time offshoot of al-Qaeda, toppled Assad and took power last year. At least until early May, the United States had been demanding the new leadership broadly exclude foreign fighters from the security forces. But Washington's approach to Syria has changed sharply since Trump toured the Middle East last month. Trump agreed to lift Assad-era sanctions on Syria, met Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa in Riyadh and named Barrack, a close friend, as his special envoy. Two sources close to the Syrian defense ministry told Reuters that Sharaa and his circle had been arguing to Western interlocutors that bringing foreign fighters into the army would be less of a security risk than abandoning them, which could drive them into the orbit of al-Qaeda or ISIS. The US State Department and a Syrian government spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment.
