India : "Major Defence Partner of USA" What it means?

So what does it mean to be a “major defence partner” partner of the US?

According to a joint statement, the designation “is a status unique to India”.

It “institutionalises the progress made to facilitate defence trade and technology-sharing with India to a level at par with that of the United States’ closest allies and partners, and ensures enduring cooperation into the future.

It is expected that procurement of weapons’ systems, spares for those platforms already in the Indian inventory and most critically the transfer of technology will get smoother.



The new rule also amends the law so that companies will not need a license at all after becoming a Validated End User (VEU).

India is not a treaty partner of the US—which is a formal alliance partner with close cooperation with Washington like Japan or Australia. Neither is it part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, which includes countries like Britain.

But India is seeking benefits granted to the closest allies of the US, such as Australia—that the Pentagon was hesitant to concede in the past.