US secretary of defence Mark Esper (AFP)

NEW DELHI: Close after President Donald Trump ’s visit to India last month, the US secretary of defence Mark Esper is now slated to touch down in New Delhi on March 15 to discuss specific measures to further strengthen the already expansive military cooperation between the two countries.

Sources said Esper will hold discussions on a wide array of issues with defence minister Rajnath Singh on March 16, including the decision taken during Trump’s visit to conclude the fourth and final bilateral foundational military pact called the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geo-Spatial Cooperation (BECA) as early as possible.

Trump’s visit on February 24-25 also saw the inking of two deals worth $3 billion for 24 MH-60 `Romeo’ naval helicopters and six Apache attack choppers, which has taken the total value of lucrative Indian defence deals bagged by the US to over $21 billion just since 2007.

The two countries have already held a couple of rounds to discuss BECA, which will enable the US to share advanced satellite and topographical data for long-range navigation and missile-targeting with India.

India had inked the first foundational agreement called General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) with the US in 2002. But the previous UPA regime had stonewalled all attempts by the US to push for the other pacts during its 10-year tenure because it said they could “compromise” India’s strategic autonomy.

But the NDA government had gone ahead to ink the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) in 2016 and then the Communications , Compatibility and Security Arrangement (COMCASA) in 2018, with India-specific safeguards in both.

While LEMOA provides for reciprocal logistics support like refueling and berthing facilities for each other's warships and aircraft, COMCASA has paved the way for India to get greater access to advanced military technologies with encrypted and secure communications and data links like armed Predator-B or Sea Guardian drones.

Trump, during his visit here, had also strongly pitched for the US to become India’s “premier defence partner” by providing it with the most advanced weapon systems like armed drones that are “feared” across the globe.

As was first reported by TOI, India has finalized the plan to acquire 30 weaponised Sea Guardians, with 10 drones each for the Navy, IAF and Army to hunt and destroy targets on land and sea. “The three Services have virtually finalized their qualitative requirements for the specific payloads and equipment fit for their drones,” said a source.

