India to co-produce armoured vehicle with America: US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Friday announced to co-produce an infantry combat vehicle with India during the India-US 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue in New Delhi. “We are working together to co-produce an armoured vehicle and that is extremely important,” Austin told reporters. The ‘2+2’ defense and foreign dialogue were also attended by US State Secretary Antony Blinken. To a question, he said the talks covered a wide range of issues including the rising security challenges from China. At the same time, he said the US-India relationship is not just based on challenges that China represents but it is based on shared values between the two countries. When asked about the project under which India will procure 31 MQ-9B drones from the US, Austin said it will be announced at the right time. “Officials in the government are doing everything possible to make sure that India gets that capability as quickly as possible,” he said. “We are stepping up US-India defence activities in multiple domains – from space to under sea,” he added. “We exchanged views on major developments in the Indo-Pacific region, Middle East and Ukraine,” he said. The defence secretary said the US-India cooperation is stronger than ever. With inputs from PTI