With India-US trade tensions easing, New Delhi is advancing long-stalled defense procurements worth billions of dollars, signaling that the strategic partnership between the world's largest democracies can withstand periodic commercial friction.
The Defence Acquisition Council will consider procurement of six additional P-8I maritime surveillance aircraft in the third week of February 2026, according to defense sources. The Indian Navy currently operates 12 P-8Is manufactured by Boeing, with the additional aircraft request receiving US State Department approval in May 2021 at a valuation of $2.42 billion.
The deal stalled for nearly five years due to cost concerns and deteriorating bilateral relations after Donald Trump's return to the presidency. ThePrint reports that the recent trade agreement between Washington and New Delhi removed political obstacles that had frozen defense cooperation despite ongoing technical dialogue.
In India, as across the subcontinent, scale and diversity make simple narratives impossible—and fascinating. The country's defense modernization involves balancing strategic autonomy—maintaining defense relationships with Russia, France, and Israel—against deepening military-technological dependence on American platforms and weapons systems.
Beyond aircraft procurement, India and the United States plan to accelerate "joint production of the GE F414-INS6 engine in India," according to defense ministry officials. This powerplant will equip the Tejas Mk2 fighter currently under development and India's fifth-generation Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), representing a crucial capability for India's indigenous defense industrial base.
The engine arrangement includes 80% technology transfer focused on production methods rather than design architecture. This distinction matters significantly—India gains manufacturing capability without the intellectual property foundation to independently design next-generation engines. To address this limitation, New Delhi will separately partner with France's Safran to develop a 120KN thrust engine for AMCA's second production phase, ensuring independent design capability over the long term.
The P-8I aircraft procurement advances India's maritime surveillance capabilities in the Indian Ocean, where China's expanding naval presence concerns both New Delhi and Washington. The Boeing-manufactured platform provides anti-submarine warfare capabilities, intelligence gathering, and maritime domain awareness—critical functions as India positions itself as the primary security provider in the Indian Ocean region.
Defense cooperation between India and the United States has grown dramatically over two decades, from near-zero defense trade in 2000 to over $20 billion in cumulative purchases. India now designates the US as a "Major Defense Partner"—a unique category created specifically for India—and the countries conduct regular joint exercises including the Malabar naval exercises alongside Japan and Australia in the Quad framework.
Yet India's defense relationship with Russia complicates the strategic alignment with Washington. New Delhi continues operating Russian-origin S-400 air defense systems despite US sanctions threats under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). American policymakers have granted India informal waivers, recognizing that India's Soviet-era defense legacy cannot be immediately replaced and that maintaining the India-US partnership serves broader Indo-Pacific strategy.
The engine technology transfer represents particularly sensitive terrain. The United States historically restricted such transfers, viewing propulsion technology as among the most closely guarded military secrets. The willingness to share 80% of production technology—even without core design architecture—signals American commitment to India as a strategic counterweight to China in Asia.
Defense sources indicated that officials from both defense establishments maintained dialogue throughout recent trade friction, with US Department of Defense representatives visiting India in September 2025 for detailed negotiations even as commerce departments exchanged tariff threats. This suggests defense and strategic affairs operate on parallel tracks somewhat insulated from commercial disputes.
The timing of the Defence Acquisition Council meeting—third week of February 2026—positions the P-8I decision shortly after India's annual budget presentation and ahead of the India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue expected in March. Such sequencing allows the government to demonstrate tangible progress in the defense partnership during high-level bilateral meetings.
India's defense modernization faces massive scale challenges. The country operates weapon systems from multiple nations with incompatible logistics chains, trains on diverse platforms requiring different maintenance ecosystems, and pursues indigenous development programs that frequently miss timelines and specifications. The choice to deepen reliance on American platforms creates long-term dependencies but delivers proven, interoperable capabilities in shorter timeframes than indigenous development paths.
