U.S. Nears Deal to Produce GE Jet-Fighter Engine in India:
Effort aims to meet challenge from China, reduce New Delhi’s dependence on Russia
The U.S. and India are expected to reach a deal during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Washington this month to manufacture jet-fighter engines in India, U.S. and Indian officials and defense executives said.
The planned assembly at plants in India of General Electric engines for India’s Tejas jet fighter is a key part of India’s effort to bolster its domestic defense industry and wean itself from a longstanding reliance on Russia for equipment to deter an emboldened China, defense analysts said.
“India’s the only country that’s actually fighting with China,” said Richard Rossow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, an independent U.S. think tank. “They can’t hold down the fort alone.”
The Pentagon has made several efforts over the past decade to bolster defense ties with India, and U.S. exports have increased. India has bought missiles, surveillance aircraft and other equipment from U.S. companies eager to expand in the country, which has been the world’s biggest importer of major arms over the past 30 years.
Boeing and Lockheed Martin have separately offered to assemble combat jets in India if either wins a long-running contest to supply more than 100 to the Indian navy, with the Rafale aircraft from Dassault Aviation also competing.
Still, Russia remains India’s largest supplier of military aircraft, helicopters and other equipment, including advanced S-400 missile-defense systems. India accounted for almost one-third of Russian arms exports from 2018 to 2022, said the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
The large U.S. company presence at the Aero-India defense trade show in February coincided with the significant participation of Russian military suppliers, as well as other countries seeking a greater share of Indian spending. --->READ MORE HERE
Air India plane flying to San Francisco lands in Russia’s Siberia after engine problem:
An Air India plane flying from New Delhi to San Francisco was diverted to Russia after it developed an engine problem, the airline said Wednesday.
The plane, a Boeing 777 carrying 216 passengers and 16 crew members, landed safely at Magadan airport in Siberia in Russia’s far east on Tuesday, Air India said in a statement.
The flight “developed a technical issue with one of its engines,” it said, adding that the aircraft was undergoing safety checks and the passengers were being provided support.
The airline said later Wednesday that a replacement plane was flying from Mumbai to Magadan to take the stranded passengers to San Francisco on Thursday.
In Washington, U.S. State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel said that fewer than 50 American citizens were on the plane and the department was not aware of any of them reaching out to the U.S. Embassy in Russia or other diplomatic posts. --->READ MORE HERE
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