India, US Boost Defence Ties: P-8I Aircraft, Javelin Missiles on Agenda

• India and the US held the 18th Defence Policy Group meeting in New Delhi to strengthen defence ties.
• Discussions included significant ongoing defence deals, notably India's plan to acquire six more P-8I anti-submarine warfare aircraft.
• Defence Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh and Under Secretary Elbridge Colby co-chaired the talks, reviewing initiatives and identifying co-development areas.
• Both sides discussed the timely provision of Excalibur precision-guided artillery ammunition, for which India signed a Rs 300 crore deal.
• India is also pursuing Javelin anti-tank guided missiles from the US via the emergency procurement route.