Washington– During a meeting with Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth emphasized that the United States and India are fully aware of the regional security challenges they face—and are capable of addressing them together.
“We’re eager to work alongside you to realize our shared goals. They’re deep and ongoing,” Hegseth said at the start of their meeting at the Pentagon on Tuesday.
Jaishankar described defense cooperation as “one of the most consequential pillars” of the U.S.-India relationship.
“It’s not built merely on shared interests, but we believe really deepening convergence and of capabilities, of responsibilities,” he said. “And what we do in the Indo-Pacific, we believe, is absolutely crucial to its strategic stability.”
While bilateral defense ties are already strong, Jaishankar noted there is room for further collaboration. “The world is a complicated place,” he said, “and certainly our partnership can make a big difference too. It’s not just for us, it’s for the broader region also.”
Hegseth welcomed India’s growing integration of U.S.-made military equipment and highlighted the future path forward.
“The United States is very pleased with the successful integration of many U.S. defense items into India’s inventory,” he said. “And building on this progress, we hope we can complete several major pending U.S. defense sales to India, expand our shared defense industrial cooperation and coproduction efforts, strengthen interoperability between our forces, and then formally sign a new 10-year Framework for the U.S.-India Major Defense Partnership, which we hope to do very soon.”
According to the Pentagon, the two leaders discussed weapons sales, the upcoming defense framework, and participation in the next INDUS-X Summit, which aims to strengthen U.S.-India defense industrial collaboration and foster innovation in technology and manufacturing.
Following the meeting, Jaishankar posted on X, “Had a productive conversation on advancing the India-U.S. defense partnership, building on growing convergences of interests, capabilities and responsibilities.”
Jaishankar is visiting Washington for the Quad Ministerial Meeting alongside U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong, and Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya.
Before Jaishankar’s Pentagon meeting, Indian Defense Minister Rajnath Singh also spoke with Hegseth. Singh posted on X that they had an “excellent discussion to review the ongoing and new initiatives to further deepen India-U.S. defense partnership and strengthen cooperation in capacity building.”
He added that he conveyed his “deep appreciation for the unwavering support extended by the U.S. to India in its fight against terrorism” and looked forward to meeting Hegseth in person soon.
Jaishankar was welcomed at the Pentagon with an enhanced military honor cordon and a Navy band performance that included both American patriotic music and India’s national anthem, “Jana Gana Mana.”
Hegseth noted that President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi “set a strong foundation for our relationship, which we’re building on here today: productive, pragmatic and realistic.”
“And our nations boast a rich and growing history of cooperation driven by a shared commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific,” he added.
According to the Pentagon, India has already incorporated several U.S.-made platforms into its military inventory, including the C-130J Super Hercules, C-17 Globemaster III, and P-8I Poseidon aircraft, as well as the CH-47F Chinook, MH-60R Seahawk, and AH-64E Apache helicopters. India also operates U.S.-supplied Harpoon anti-ship missiles, M777 howitzers, and MQ-9B drones. (Source: IANS)
