India, US to finalise 10-year defence pact; Singh urges faster GE engine delivery for Tejas

The agreement was outlined in a Pentagon statement released on Wednesday, a day after the two leaders held a phone conversation.

"Secretary Hegseth and Minister Singh agreed to sign the next 10-year US-India Defence Framework when they next meet this year," the statement said.

The discussion covered several key issues, including major pending US defence sales to India and the importance of enhancing defence industrial cooperation.

"Secretary Hegseth emphasised the priority the United States places on India as its key defence partner in South Asia," the Pentagon added.

The two leaders also reviewed the “considerable progress” made toward defence goals set during the February 2025 joint statement by President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

During the call, Singh pressed for expedited delivery of GE F404 engines that power the Tejas Light Combat Aircraft, sources familiar with the matter said.

He also pushed for the early finalisation of a proposed agreement between Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) and US defence giant GE Aerospace to jointly manufacture F414 engines in India.

The delay in the F404 engine supply has caused HAL to miss its delivery timeline for the Tejas Mark 1A fighter jets to the Indian Air Force.

An Indian readout noted that the talks covered a wide spectrum of defence-related cooperation, including training, military exchanges and industrial collaboration.

“They agreed to further build upon the momentum of this critical and mutually beneficial partnership across all its pillars such as interoperability, integration of defence industrial supply chains, logistics sharing, increased joint military exercises and cooperation with other like-minded partners,” the readout said.