Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said that the decision of General Electric Company (GE) to manufacture fighter planes in India will prove to be a milestone for India’s defence sector, as both nations are taking strong steps towards a better future through their cooperation.During his address to the Indian diaspora at the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington, DC, PM Modi said,”In these 3 days, a new and glorious journey of India and the US relations has begun. This new journey is of our convergence on global strategic issues, of our cooperation for Make in India Make for the World.”
PM Modi said, “Be it technology transfer and manufacturing cooperation or increasing coordination in the industrial supply chain, both nations are taking strong steps towards a better future. The decision of General Electric Company to manufacture fighter planes in India will prove to be a milestone for India’s defence sector.”
In a major announcement coinciding with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the United States, GE Aerospace on Thursday announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to produce fighter jet engines for the Indian Air Force.
The agreement includes the potential joint production of GE Aerospace’s F414 engines in India.
GE Aerospace said in a release that it continues to work with the US government to receive the necessary export authorization for this. The effort is part of the Indian Air Force’s Light Combat Aircraft Mk2 programme.The US company said that the MoU with HAL to produce fighter jet engines for IAF is a major milestone amidst PM Modi’s official state visit to the United States and a key element in strengthening defence cooperation between the two countries.The announcement about the MoU came ahead of PM Modi’s bilateral talks with US President Joe Biden on Thursday.