With our correspondent in New Delhi, Sebastien Farcis

India has been trying to develop its own light combat aircraft for decades. Although its first model called Tejas has just been inducted into the air force, its engines are not efficient enough to carry out advanced dogfights.

This agreement, which still needs to be ratified by the American Congress, changes the situation. General Electric Aerospace should share with India most of its know-how for manufacturing its advanced engine, which equips other American F-18s. This will allow New Delhi to bolster its aging fleet at a lower cost by producing these light aircraft locally instead of importing them.

Reducing military dependence on Russia

Which is also in the interest of the US, as Sameer Patil, researcher at the Observer Research Foundation, explains. “ The aim appears to be to reduce India’s military dependence on Russia. India will now be able to produce its own fighter jets or buy the most efficient ones from the West “, he said.

Today, most Indian fighter aircraft are Russian-made, and this heavy military dependence was one of the reasons why India remained neutral in the conflict in Ukraine.

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