A Survey of India-US Defence Cooperation

Background India-US defence cooperation began during the 1962 Sino-Indian War, when the US supplied India with transport aircraft, weapons, and training. The two sides and the UK also conducted air exercises for a limited period. The US offered India about US$500 million in credit and grants for five years to purchase non-combat military equipment, but this never took off and ended when the US froze military ties with India and Pakistan in the wake of the 1965 war. Current collaboration has its roots in the memorandum drafted by Lt. Gen. Claude Kicklighter in the 1990s. Lt. Gen. Kicklighter was the commander of the army component of the US Pacific Command (now the Indo-Pacific Command) headquartered in Hawaii. It is through this command that all subsequent Indo-US military cooperation has been channelled. At the time, aware of India’s dependence on Russian military equipment, which was much cheaper than those available in the US and Europe, the US promoted the idea of collaborating in defence technology. It may be noted that Lt. Gen. Kicklighter’s proposals were made possible by a thaw in Indo-US relations during the Reagan Administration and driven by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her successor Rajiv Gandhi over the 1982-89 period.