Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel believes the U.S. and India will be able to expand their defense and technology partnerships by leveraging the potential of both countries, DoD News reported Saturday.
Hagel told business leaders and scholars in New Delhi, India, that the U.S. will accept proposals from India to jointly develop technologies around big data, cognitive sciences, chemical and biological defense systems and material sciences, Nick Simeone reports.
Hagel said both countries can also build on their joint military and maritime operations, according to the report.
“But we can do more to forge a defense industrial partnership, one that would transform our nations’ defense cooperation from simply buying and selling to co-production, co-development and freer exchange of technology,†he told the Observer Research Foundation.
He believes the U.S.-India defense trade and technology initiative is a key channel to bolster the relationship between the U.S. and India, the report says.
Hagel said both countries plan to collaborate on building a new anti-tank missile as part of that initiative, Simeone reports.
