To counter the influence of China in Indopacific, the United States rely on one of its main rivals, that is to say India. And that, despite its links with Russia. This is the reason why this country has never been worried by the Caatsa law [Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act]which allows to sanction any entity having signed contracts with the Russian armament industry.
Better still: in recent years, Washington and New Delhi have sought to deepen their military relations, which has notably resulted in the purchases of helicopters [AH-64E Apache, CH-47 Chinook]maritime patrol planes P-8i Poseidon and, more recently, of male drones [Moyenne Altitude Longue Endurance] MQ-9B SkyGuardian.
In February, on the occasion of a visit to Narendra Modi, the Indian Prime Minister at the White House, President Trump said that the United States would “increase its military sales to India” and “open the way” to the delivery of F-35 bombers to the Indian Air Force [IAF]. Such an option had never been officially envisaged until then.
This announcement had been made while the Indian Ministry of Defense was preparing to issue a tender to obtain 114 new combat aircraft for the MRFA program [Multi-role fighter aircraft]whose realization is urgent insofar as the IAF is currently unable to align the 42 combat squadrons registered in its operational contract.
Among the candidates for this call for tenders, we find Dassault Aviation [Rafale, donné favori]Lockheed-Martin [F-21, une version dérivée du F-16 Viper]Boeing [F/A-18 Super Hornet et F-15 Eagle II]Saab [Gripen E/F] or the Eurofighter consortium [Typhoon]. Russia will take part, with the SU-35 Flanker E and the MIG-35.
Be that as it may, six months later, President Trump’s good provisions for India shattered when the latter said that Indian products imported into the United States are the subject of 25 % customs duties from August 1. And to point out that a “penalty” was going to be added to punish New Delhi for its oil purchases from Russia.
“We trade with them [les Indiens] Because their customs duties are among the highest in the world and the most tiring and odious non -pricing barriers, “said Trump, via the Truth Social network. “We have a massive trade deficit with India! “, He insisted, before recalling that India” buys a majority of its military equipment to Russia “and that it is one of the main customers of Russian oil with China,” while everyone wants Russia to stop killing in Ukraine “.
If the commercial negotiations between Washington and New Delhi should however continue in the coming days, there is no question for the Indian Air Force to obtain F-35. This is indeed what sources indicated close to the file indicated to the Bloomberg agency on July 31.
“India informed the United States that it had no interest in buying Lockheed Martin F-35 despite the increasing pressure of Washington to sell it military equipment,” reported the news agency.
“The government [indien] is more interested in a partnership based on the joint design and manufacturing of defense equipment, “said one of the sources of the news agency. Which is hardly surprising since India seeks to strengthen its strategic autonomy, through its so -called “Make in India” and “Aatmanirbharta” policies “
This is also the reason why the Indian Defense Ministry launched, in May, the development of the Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft [AMCA]a 5th generation hunter-bombardier. However, the latter should not be operational by 2034 … while Pakistan intends to obtain furtive combat aircraft J-35 from China.
Is there a relationship with the justification given by Mr. Trump about customs duties? The fact remains that, at the last Aero India show, Russia, via its agency Rosoboronexport, proposed to sell hunters of 5th generation BUS Su-57e “Felon” to India, while ensuring that these devices could be built by the Indian group Hindustan Aeronautics Limited [HAL] From 2026 and integrate local weapons systems, such as Virupaksha AESA radar or Astra missiles [air-air] and rudra [antiradar].
So far this offer has never been commented on publicly by the Indian government.