Ahead of 2 major deals with India, Pentagon says...

As India and the United States are set to begin negotiations on two transformational deals -- Security of Supply Arrangement (SOSA) and Reciprocal Defence Procurement Agreement (RDP) -- the Pentagon has said that the defence industries of the two nations will come together once the negotiations conclude.

RDP will allow Indian businesses to service DoD procurement contracts; and allow US businesses to service defence ministry procurement contracts while the SOSA will allow the Department of Defence to move Indian orders for US equipment to the front of the line.

This is particularly helpful during crises when one country has urgent needs, but American vendors are struggling to prioritise between their customers.

"Both agreements would promote long-term supply chain stability. So those are initiatives that will take probably years to negotiate, but we're committed to starting those negotiations," a Defence Department official told PTI on Tuesday.

Announced during the recent trip of Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin to India, SOSA and RDP agreements are part of a new Roadmap for US-India Defence Industrial Cooperation.

"It commits us to long-term supply chain integration and specifically to beginning negotiations on a security of supply arrangement and reciprocal defence procurement arrangement. These will be transformational agreements when they are concluded that will do a tremendous amount for actually bringing the Indian and defence industrial bases more closely together in the future," a senior defence department official said.

'SOSA is something that allows on both sides, more rapid access to critical supplies, minerals technologies that we can access those more rapidly when we need them,' the official said in response to a question.

RDP MOUs are binding international agreements that relate to the research, development, or production of defence equipment, or to the reciprocal procurement of defence items.

They involve a mutual commitment not to discriminate against the supplier of the other country for agreed-upon items, the official said.

SOSAs allow the DoD to request priority delivery for DoD contracts, subcontracts, or orders from companies in the country with whom the agreement is signed.

SOSA also allow the signatory nations to request priority delivery for their contracts and orders with US firms.

Earlier, the Pentagon said that the US remains deeply confident in India's diversification of military equipment and believes that Washington's proposal for industrial cooperation will further integrate the defence industries of the two countries.

Pentagon's Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters at a news conference on Tuesday that the US encourages all its partners and allies to avoid transactions with Russia.

"We welcome Prime Minister Modi's visit to the United States this week. (Defense) Secretary (Lloyd) Austin visited India just two weeks ago and was able to meet with his counterpart (Rajnath Singh) there. What we always will continue to urge our allies and partners around the world is to avoid transactions with Russia," she said, referring to the sanctions imposed on Moscow.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is visiting the US from June 21-24 at the invitation of US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden.

"We remain deeply confident in India's diversification of equipment, and over the past decade, our proposal for industrial cooperation will further integrate the US and Indian defence industries. So, I think I'll just leave it at that," Singh said.

"That's something that we've continued to reiterate with Turkey, with India, and with others. I think, there are very different and two different cases, and when it comes to India, we remain confident in their diversification of equipment and our ability to integrate with them as well," she said.

"I'm not going to get ahead of any announcements that might come out from the White House or any other agencies," Singh said when asked about the possible defence deals that could be signed during Prime Minister Modi's visit.

India signed a $5 billion deal with Russia in October 2018 for purchasing five units of the S-400 air defence missile systems, despite a warning from the previous Donald Trump administration that going ahead with the contract may invite US sanctions.

The S-400 is known as Russia's most advanced long-range surface-to-air missile defence system.

The Triumf' interceptor-based missile system can destroy incoming hostile aircraft, missiles and even drones at ranges of up to 400 km.

Russia started delivery of the first regiment of the missile systems in December 2021 and it has been deployed to cover parts of the border with China in the northern sector, as well as the frontier with Pakistan.

In February this year, Russia said it will soon complete the supplies of the third regiment of the S-400 Triumf surface-to-air missile systems to India as both sides are committed to the contract.

Russia has been a major supplier of military hardware to India.

The two countries have been holding discussions on what kind of payment mechanisms can work between them in view of the Western sanctions on Moscow.