India-US defence ties are moving from a buyer-seller relationship to co-production and industrial integration. Critically examine with reference to the 10-year Defence Framework.

India and the US designated their relationship a Major Defence Partnership in 2016 [1]. On 31 October 2025 they signed a 10-year Framework that sets one shared vision for 2025–35 [2]. At Cebu in October 2026, the two sides reviewed this Framework and called for faster technology sharing and defence industrial integration [3]. The shift is real in intent but only partial in practice.

Evidence of a shift towards co-production

• Roadmap to Framework: the Defence Industrial Cooperation Roadmap (2023) sought to "fast-track" co-production [1]. The Framework now lists military technology, information sharing and co-production as core areas [3].
• Institutions: the DPPG (Defense Production and Procurement Group) and the Joint Technical Group give production and technology work a regular channel [1].
• Innovation ecosystem: INDUS-X (2023) links start-ups, universities and investors on both sides [1].
• Supply assurance: the Security of Supply Arrangement (August 2024) commits each side to give priority to the other's defence orders [1].
• Interoperability: the foundational agreements LEMOA (2016), COMCASA (2018) and BECA (2020) support joint operations [1].

Limitations: a buyer-seller relationship persists

• Purchase-heavy record: India has bought more than US$20 billion of US equipment, including the C-130J, C-17, Apache, Chinook, MH-60R and P-8I. India bought all of these platforms rather than building them [1].
• Latest deal was also a purchase: the MQ-9B drone deal of October 2024 was a straight acquisition [1].
• Repeated promises: the co-production goal of 2023 was repeated in 2025 [1][2]. In 2026 ministers were still asking for faster progress [3].
• Strategic-autonomy risk: relying on one supplier exposes India to delays in spare parts and upgrades. Trade friction shows how quickly US policy can change; the US announced a tariff cut to 18% only in February 2026 [1].

Way forward

• Turn the Framework into a list of named co-production projects with deadlines, tracked through the DPPG.
• Use INDUS-X to bring Indian MSMEs into US supply chains at the component level.

The Framework has set the intent and built the institutions, but output still lags behind purchases. Measurable co-production would turn dependence into shared capacity. It would advance Atmanirbhar Bharat while keeping India's strategic autonomy intact.