India and the United States signed the 10-year Framework for the Major Defence Partnership (2025–2035) on the sidelines of the 12th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus) held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, marking a new phase in their strategic cooperation.
This framework succeeds the earlier 10-year agreements of 2005–2015 and 2015–2025, ensuring policy continuity and a steady evolution from limited defence cooperation to a comprehensive strategic partnership.
Evolution of India–US Defence Cooperation
- From Hesitant Ties to Strategic Embrace: Until the early 2000s, India–US defence ties remained limited due to Cold War legacies.
- Post-2005, defence became a central pillar of bilateral relations following the Civil Nuclear Deal and regular high-level strategic dialogues.
- Apex Coordination: The 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue serves as the apex institutional mechanism, aligning defence and foreign policy goals of both nations for greater strategic coherence.
- The India–US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue is a high-level strategic dialogue between the Defence and Foreign Ministers of both countries.
- Institutional Frameworks Since 2015: The 2013 Joint Declaration on Defence Cooperation and 2015 Framework Agreement provided a structured roadmap.
- Key foundational pacts signed include:
- LEMOA (Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement, 2016): Enables reciprocal access to military logistics and bases for refuelling and supplies.
- Major Defence Partner (2016): The US designated India as a Major Defence Partner (MDP) in 2016, formalising long-term access to advanced technologies and deep strategic engagement.
- COMCASA (Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement, 2018): Allows secure, real-time exchange of encrypted communication systems.
- Industrial Security Agreement (ISA, 2019): Protects classified defence information and facilitates secure collaboration between Indian and US private industries.
- BECA (Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement, 2020): Facilitates sharing of advanced geospatial, mapping, and satellite data for enhanced situational awareness.
- SOSA (Security of Supply Arrangement, 2024): Ensures resilient and secure defence supply chains in critical materials and technologies.
- Later accords, such as the Liaison Officer Agreements, further strengthened operational coordination and interoperability between the two forces.
- Strategic Trade Authorization (STA–Tier 1, 2018): It further boosted cooperation by granting India license-free access to sensitive dual-use technologies, highlighting trust and long-term alignment.
- Towards a Decade-Long Vision: The new 2025 Framework unifies these mechanisms into a long-term strategic architecture, covering defence industry, logistics, intelligence, and joint research.
Key Features of the 2025 Framework
- Unified Strategic Vision: Establishes a 10-year policy roadmap guiding cooperation in production, logistics, information sharing, and innovation.
- Consolidates fragmented initiatives into a single coherent framework for sustained cooperation.
- Industrial and Technological Collaboration: Promotes co-production and co-development of advanced platforms under Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat.
- Expands supply-chain integration and joint ventures in aerospace, drones, and naval systems.
- Defence Industrial Cooperation Roadmap: The Defence Industrial Cooperation Roadmap (2023) aims to accelerate co-production and technology transfer in sectors like jet engines, drones, and space systems, aligning industry with strategic priorities.
- India as an MRO (Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul) Hub: Aims to make India a regional MRO hub for US-origin aircraft, ships, and systems.
- This will boost employment, revenue, and India’s ability to service partner nations’ platforms in the Indo-Pacific.
- Operational Interoperability: Deepens joint military exercises like Yudh Abhyas, Malabar, and Tiger Triumph, extending to air, cyber, and space domains.
- India’s arsenal now includes C-130J, C-17, P-8I, Apache, Chinook, and MH-60R Seahawks, enhancing joint mission readiness and interoperability under COMCASA-secured systems.
- Encourages tri-service coordination, joint logistics, and intelligence fusion.
- Multilateral Integration and Indo-Pacific Focus: Aligns the bilateral framework with Quad, ASEAN, and Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) objectives to promote a rules-based maritime order.
- Enhances information-sharing networks under BECA and LEMOA, ensuring collective readiness among Quad members.
- Addresses China’s grey-zone activities through improved cyber security, space cooperation, and joint deterrence mechanisms.
About 12th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting – Plus (ADMM-Plus)
- Theme of India’s Address: India spoke on “Reflection on 15 Years of ADMM-Plus and Charting the Way Forward”, highlighting cooperation in defence technology, cyber security, and maritime safety.
- India’s Role within ADMM-Plus: India serves as Co-Chair of the Experts’ Working Group on Counter-Terrorism (2024–2027) with Malaysia.
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- The second ASEAN–India Maritime Exercise (AIME) is scheduled for 2026 to improve operational interoperability.
- Focus Areas of Discussion: Strengthening cooperation in counter-terrorism, maritime domain awareness, cyber and space security, humanitarian assistance, and defence industry collaboration.
- Outcome: The meeting reaffirmed ASEAN centrality, encouraged multilateral defence cooperation, and advanced a shared vision of a free, open, and rules-based Indo-Pacific.
About ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting – Plus (ADMM-Plus)
- Nature and Purpose: The ADMM-Plus is the highest defence consultative and cooperative mechanism under ASEAN, aimed at promoting regional peace, stability, and mutual trust through structured defence dialogue and practical cooperation.
- Inaugural Meeting: The first ADMM-Plus was held in Hanoi, Vietnam, on October 12, 2010.
- Frequency: The meeting has been held annually since 2017, ensuring consistent engagement and coordination among member nations.
- Composition: It includes ASEAN Member States and 8 Dialogue Partners — India, the United States, China, Russia, Japan, Australia, South Korea, and New Zealand.
- ASEAN Members: The ASEAN countries are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor Leste, and Vietnam.
- East Timor (Timor-Leste) has officially become the 11th member of ASEAN, marking the bloc’s first expansion since Cambodia’s entry in 1999.
- Core Objective: The mechanism aims to enhance regional security, promote defence diplomacy, and strengthen transparency and confidence-building among ASEAN and its partners.
- Key Areas of Cooperation: It focuses on seven priority areas — Maritime Security, Counter-Terrorism, Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR), Peacekeeping Operations, Military Medicine, Humanitarian Mine Action, and Cyber Security.
- Link with ADMM: The ADMM-Plus functions under the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM), ASEAN’s primary defence policy platform for fostering stability and cooperation.
- India’s Association: India became a Dialogue Partner in 1992, deepening engagement with ASEAN in defence and security cooperation.
- India’s Role: India actively contributes to maritime security, counter-terrorism, and capacity-building under its Act East Policy and Indo-Pacific Vision.
- Current Role (2024–2027): India serves as Co-Chair of the Experts’ Working Group on Counter-Terrorism along with Malaysia.
- Future Engagements: The second ASEAN–India Maritime Exercise (AIME) will be held in 2026, highlighting India’s growing operational synergy and regional leadership.
Significance for India
- Advancing the Act East Policy: The forum strengthens India’s strategic engagement with ASEAN, anchoring its Indo-Pacific diplomacy and expanding security cooperation.
- Maritime Security and Regional Stability: Cooperation under LEMOA and BECA improves India’s maritime domain awareness (MDA) and ability to act as a net security provider in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
- Counter-Terrorism Cooperation: Co-chairing the Experts’ Working Group on Counter-Terrorism deepens coordination on information-sharing, intelligence, and joint exercises.
- Indo-Pacific Cooperation: Aligns with India’s partnerships under the Quad and supports its vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific that upholds ASEAN centrality.
- Defence Industrial and Technological Linkages: Encourages co-development, technology transfer, and joint manufacturing, complementing India’s Atmanirbhar Bharat and Make in India policies.
- Diplomatic and Strategic Leverage: Positions India as a bridge between ASEAN and other major powers, contributing to regional security, crisis response, and supply-chain resilience.
- Future Outlook: India’s proactive role in ADMM-Plus will continue to promote multilateral defence collaboration, capacity-building, and strategic convergence across the Indo-Pacific.
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Strategic Significance
- Cornerstone for Regional Stability: Strengthens Indo-Pacific deterrence architecture and ensures maritime balance against coercive regional behaviour.
- Deepening Strategic Convergence: Builds alignment in counter-terrorism, maritime security, and technological innovation, shifting from buyer–seller to joint capability creation.
- Technological Edge and Defence Modernisation: Key projects such as GE F-414 jet engines for Tejas Mk-2 and 31 MQ-9B HALE drones represent co-production milestones.
- Expands India’s access to cutting-edge defence technologies once restricted under US export laws.
- Economic and Defence–Trade Dimension: Bilateral defence trade now exceeds USD 25 billion since 2007, making the US one of India’s top three defence suppliers.
- The defence framework complements ongoing trade dialogues, potentially aiding resolution of tariff and GSP-related issues.
- Defence cooperation thus functions as a trust multiplier in broader economic relations.
- Enhanced Maritime Domain Awareness: Strengthens real-time intelligence sharing and logistics access across the Indian Ocean.
- Improves India’s regional surveillance and deterrence capacity, reinforcing its status as a net security provider.
Innovation and Emerging Domains
- INDUS-X (2023): The India–US Defence Acceleration Ecosystem connects startups, R&D institutions, and private industry to co-develop cutting-edge systems in AI, space, and robotics — moving from government-to-government to industry-to-industry collaboration.
- Autonomous Systems Industry Alliance (ASIA, 2025): Promotes AI-driven, robotic, and autonomous defence systems, enhancing Indo-Pacific innovation and operational efficiency.
- The framework expands cooperation into cyber, space, and autonomous warfare, improving data security, situational awareness, and digital deterrence in future conflicts.
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Integration of the India–US Defence Framework with India’s Core Strategic Objectives:
| Policy / Strategy Objective |
Link to India–US Defence Framework |
| Strategic Autonomy (Core Foreign Policy) |
- Diversifies weapon sources beyond Russia while avoiding formal alignment. The US’s pragmatic stance on CAATSA affirms India’s non-aligned autonomy.
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| ‘Make in India’ & ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ (Defence Policy) |
- Co-production of GE jet engines, UAVs, and establishment of MRO hubs directly build indigenous defence capacity and reduce import dependency.
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| Net Security Provider in the Indian Ocean Region (Regional Strategy) |
- BECA and LEMOA enhance access to intelligence and logistics, enabling India to secure sea lanes, improve surveillance, and support smaller neighbours.
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| Integrated Theatre Commands (Military Reform) |
- Joint exercises, COMCASA-secured communications, and tri-service planning enhance interoperability and prepare forces for integrated theatre command structures.
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Challenges and Limitations
- Technology-Transfer Constraints: Export-control regimes and intellectual-property barriers could limit the transfer of high-end technologies despite political intent.
- Strategic Autonomy and the Russia Factor: India must balance closer ties with the US while retaining strategic autonomy vis-à-vis Russia.
- The US’s willingness to maintain this partnership despite India’s S-400 acquisition highlights a pragmatic CAATSA flexibility, acknowledging India’s legacy systems and multi-alignment policy.
- Cyber and Space Security Challenges: Integrating space situational awareness and cyber resilience remains complex, requiring continuous capacity-building and secure communication frameworks.
- Bureaucratic and Procurement Bottlenecks: Slow procurement timelines and differing industrial standards can delay co-production initiatives.
- Regional Sensitivities: Closer India–US alignment may invite strategic countermeasures from China or Russia, testing India’s diplomatic balance.
Implications
- For India:
- Boost to Defence Manufacturing: Enhanced technology access and integration into global supply chains.
- Strategic Leverage: Strengthened deterrence and operational readiness in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
- Economic Opportunity: Emergence as an MRO hub and innovation centre for defence logistics and technology.
- Diplomatic Weight: Greater credibility as a regional security provider and Indo-Pacific stabiliser.
- For the United States:
- Reliable Regional Partner: Reinforces India as a democratic anchor in South Asia and the Indo-Pacific.
- Economic and Industrial Gains: Expands access to India’s manufacturing ecosystem and supply chains.
- Strategic Depth: Enhances US strategic presence in Asia and supports Quad’s security architecture.
Way Forward
- Institutionalising Innovation through INDUS-X: INDUS-X (India–US Defence Acceleration Ecosystem) links start-ups, R&D institutions, and private industries to co-develop advanced systems in AI, space, and robotics.
- Represents a shift from government-to-government (G2G) to industry-to-industry (I2I) collaboration.
- Building Supply-Chain Resilience: Integrate Indian firms into US defence manufacturing networks to reduce dependence on single-source suppliers and enhance reliability.
- Operational and Multilateral Integration: Expand joint command drills, space situational awareness programmes, and Quad-level coordination for cohesive regional deterrence.
- Policy Continuity and Bipartisan Backing: Sustain the defence framework through bipartisan support in both countries, ensuring long-term stability despite leadership changes.
Conclusion
The India–US 10-Year Defence Partnership Framework (2025–2035) marks a shift from transactional ties to a technology-driven strategic partnership, reaffirming defence as the cornerstone of Indo-Pacific stability and positioning India as a pivotal, autonomous power in the evolving Asian security architecture.
1 Nov 2025
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